Google to block Canadian news from Search over a new law

Google is taking a restricting approach towards Canadian news in its Search, News, and Discover application. The US tech giant is planning to remove all links from Canadian news publications over a new regulation. Why so? Let’s dive into the depth of this matter.

Recently, the government of Canada passed a new law named – Bill C-18. It is an Online News Act that requires two companies to pay for simply showing links to news. While the action is free for most of us, lawsuits are charging the so-called ‘link tax’ on this concept. As a result, it creates an uncovered financial liability to Google for just bringing access to Canadian news to users residing in the area.

The manufacturer argued over the statement for a year, saying that it was a wrong approach and hampers the process of how the web and search engines work. Eventually, the act will no longer provide a free and open web. In its favor, Google said:

“Last year alone, we linked to Canadian news publications more than 3.6 billion times – at no charge – helping publishers make money through ads and new subscriptions. This referral traffic from links has been valued at CAD 250 million annually.”

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However, the new law has bonded Google completely due to which, the company has decided to block the Canadian news from its Search, News, and Discover feeds. The tech giant said that it will continue to show up safety-related and natural calamities in the country. But other than that, it cannot help out more.

(Source)