A 4% Link Tax: Why the Government's Draft Bill C-18 Regulations Just Increased the Chances of No News on Meta and Google in Canada - Michael Geist

The government is releasing its draft regulations for Bill C-18 today and the chances that both Google and Meta will stop linking to news in Canada just increased significantly. In fact, with the government setting an astonishing floor of 4% of revenues for linking to news, the global implications could run into the billions for Google alone. No country in the world has come close to setting this standard and the question the Internet companies will face is whether they are comfortable with the global liability that would see many other countries making similar demands. The implications are therefore pretty clear: there is little likelihood that Meta will restore news links in Canada and Google is more likely to follow the same path as the Canadian government establishes what amounts to 4% link tax from Bill C-18 on top of a 3% digital services tax and millions in Bill C-11 payments. 

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Meta says it won't stop blocking news in Canada as govt outlines regulations - BNN Bloomberg : r/canada

A 4% Link Tax: Why the Government's Draft Bill C-18 Regulations Just Increased the Chances of No News on Meta and Google in Canada - Michael Geist

Will Canada's Online News Act (bill C-18) be amended or repealed by 2025?

megan mcphaden (@megom8) / X

Jim Douglas 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 (@JimSDouglas) / X

Darryl Braaten on LinkedIn: Upcoming MRC Webinar!

Michael Geist on X: Months of Meta consistently stating it would exit news in Canada due to Bill C-18. Yet @pablorodriguez still thought it was a bluff and has no Plan B.

Why The Government's Bill C-18 Draft Regulations Do Little to Ensure More Spending on Journalists or News Content - Michael Geist

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