The Canadian government has introduced a bill for companies like Google or Facebook to remunerate the media for the use of their content on their digital platforms.

The proposed legislation is modeled on a similar law approved last year by Australia and will force internet giants to enter into commercial agreements with companies that generate informational content to compensate for the use of their material, according to Canadian media reported today.

If the bill is approved, the media will be able to collectively negotiate commercial agreements, which will allow them to act “on fairer terms” against the tech giants.

But if the deals aren’t reasonable, under requirements set out in the bill, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will have the ability to impose compensation to be paid by Internet companies.

The Canadian government justified the presentation of the bill by the crisis that the information sector is experiencing since the giants of the Internet have seized a significant share of the distribution of content and the capture of advertising. .

The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodríguez, pointed out Tuesday during the presentation of the bill that since 2008, more than 450 media outlets have closed in Canada and that in the last two years alone, 60 have disappeared.

In 2020, Internet advertising revenue reached C$9.7 billion (US$7.77 billion). 80% of that amount went to Alphabet and Meta, the parent companies of Google and Facebook, respectively.

Rodríguez pointed out that advertising revenues have shifted from the media to these large platforms “which benefit from the distribution of informative content”.

“A free and independent press is fundamental to our democracy,” Rodríguez said in a statement. The Canadian minister added that the health of the sector is at risk due to the imbalance between the power of the technology giants and that of the communication companies.