Skip to main content

Bill C-18, or the Online News Act, is legislation that would force tech companies such as Google and Meta to strike deals with news organizations for posting or linking their content. The bill became law on June 22 and is expected to take effect by the end of 2023

CBC stands to get largest share of cash from Online News Act, experts say
Canada’s leading media companies are banding together to work on reducing their collective impact on the environment. People walk into a CBC building in Toronto on April 4, 2012.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
New Heritage Minister holds ‘positive’ talks with Meta executives, but won’t ‘roll back’ on Bill C-18
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge speaks to reporters during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
opinion
Canada’s new culture minister will have to tackle tech bullies and copyright reform
opinion
How we can move forward, now that the divisive Bill C-18 is law
opinion
Google and Facebook act tough in Bill C-18 standoff because they are desperate
politics
CBC stands to get largest share of cash from Online News Act, experts say
Canada’s leading media companies are banding together to work on reducing their collective impact on the environment. People walk into a CBC building in Toronto on April 4, 2012.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
politics
New Heritage Minister holds ‘positive’ talks with Meta executives, but won’t ‘roll back’ on Bill C-18
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge speaks to reporters during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
opinion
Canada’s new culture minister will have to tackle tech bullies and copyright reform
Kate Taylor
opinion
How we can move forward, now that the divisive Bill C-18 is law
Taylor Owen and Supriya Dwivedi
opinion
Google and Facebook act tough in Bill C-18 standoff because they are desperate
Dylan Freeman-Grist
report on business
Google withholds AI chatbot as Meta runs ads opposing Bill C-18
FILE - The Google logo is displayed at their offices on Nov. 1, 2018, in Granary Square, in London. Google is rolling out its artificial-intelligence powered chatbot Bard across Europe and in Brazil, expanding its availability to hundreds of millions more users in dozens of additional languages. The company also said Thursday, July 13, 2023, that it’s adding more features to Bard, as it scrambles to keep up with rival Microsoft, which uses OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT service in its Bing search engine.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
opinion
If Canada really is at war with Big Tech, we aren’t covering ourselves in glory
Jen Gerson
politics
B.C. Premier David Eby pulls advertising from Facebook over Bill C-18
David Eby, Premier of British Columbia, speaks to media at the Council of the Federation Canadian premiers meeting at The Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
report on business
Meta’s Threads may be regulated under Bill C-18, says minister
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez participates in a news conference on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Rodriguez says he's leaving the door open to regulating new social media platform Threads under a bill forcing Google and Meta to pay publishers for content they link to or repurpose. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
politics
Ottawa’s bid to bring Facebook onside on Bill C-18 not enough to stop it blocking news
FILE PHOTO: Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
canada
Evening Update: Postmedia and Toronto Star parent company end merger talks
Postmedia signage is pictured at the head office in Toronto, on Wednesday, June 28, 2023.
politics
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez proposes regulations to address Google, Facebook’s Bill C-18 concerns
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez speaks during a news conference on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, along Bloc MP Martin Champoux, right, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Tensions between Ottawa and tech giants further escalated on Wednesday over Canada's recently passed Online News Act. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
canada
Evening Update: Ottawa suspends advertising on Facebook, Instagram over Bill C-18 standoff
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez participates in a news conference on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
politics
Politics Briefing: Ottawa freezes advertising on Facebook, Instagram over Bill C-18 standoff
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez participates in a news conference on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
politics
Ottawa, Quebec halt advertising on Facebook, Instagram over Bill C-18 standoff
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez participates in a news conference on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
morning update newsletter
Morning Update: U.S. senator urges Canada to stand firm against Meta, Google’s threats to block Canadian news over Bill C-18
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks on the upcoming anniversary of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision, which ended a women's right to access an abortion, at the U.S. Capitol on June 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Democrats outlined their plan for a series of bills to protect women's rights including their plan to codify the right to contraception. Klobuchar was joined by (L-R) Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN). (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
politics
U.S. senator urges Canada to resist pressure from Meta, Google over Bill C-18
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks on the upcoming anniversary of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision, which ended a women's right to access an abortion, at the U.S. Capitol on June 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Democrats outlined their plan for a series of bills to protect women's rights including their plan to codify the right to contraception. Klobuchar was joined by (L-R) Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN). (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
opinion
Newsrooms don’t need the CRTC’s eye
The Editorial Board
morning update newsletter
Morning Update: Google will stop linking to Canadian news
Members of the media view new Google products in a media area during the Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, on May 10, 2023. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
opinion
What Bill C-18 is trying to save might be too far gone
John Ibbitson
canada
Evening Update: Google says it will remove Canadian news links from its sites, Facebook cancels deals with outlets
FILE - A man using a cell phone walks past Google offices on Dec. 17, 2018, in New York. Attorneys debated the proper jurisdiction for settling a legal challenge to the first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising during arguments before Maryland's highest court on Friday, May 5, 2023. Attorneys for Big Tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon have contended the law unfairly targets them. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
politics
Politics Briefing: Tech giants respond to Bill C-18 by withdrawing access to Canadian news on their platforms
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez speaks to media as he leaves a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
politics
Google to cut off access to Canadian news as Facebook cancels deals with publishers
Members of the media view new Google products in a media area during the Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, on May 10, 2023. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
politics
Justin Trudeau criticizes tech giants as heritage minister makes bid to keep Google on board over Bill C-18
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement on a child care funding in Mississauga, Ont., Wednesday, June 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj
opinion
The Online News Act may seem questionable, but how else can we protect the independence of news?
Gus Carlson
morning update newsletter
Morning Update: Facebook to pull Canadian news access as Bill C-18 becomes law
(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 12, 2023 this picture taken in Toulouse, southwestern France shows a tablet displaying the logo of the company Meta. Facebook owner Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for transferring EU user data to the United States in breach of a previous court ruling, Ireland's regulator announced May 23, 2023. The Irish Data Protection Commission, which acts on behalf of the European Union, said the European Data Protection Board had ordered it to collect "an administrative fine in the amount of 1.2 billion euros". Meta said it would appeal the decision. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)
opinion
The best thing the government could do to save the media is to stop trying to save the media
Andrew Coyne
politics
Facebook to pull news access in Canada as Bill C-18 becomes law
The Google News homepage is displayed on an iPhone in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Google Canada says it would be reasonable to reconsider sharing links to news sites if Bill C-18, the government's Online News Act, becomes law. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
politics
Heritage Minister Rodriguez rejects key Senate change to Bill C-18, paving way for Facebook news block
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez prepares to appear before the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications on Bill C-11 in the Senate of Canada Building in Ottawa on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. The bill, also known as the Online Streaming Act, is one of several problematic Canadian initiatives tech leaders in the U.S. want President Joe Biden to raise with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
opinion
Artificial intelligence makes Bill C-18, Canada’s Online News Act, already outdated
Michael Geist
politics
Minister challenges senators to stand up to tech giants on bill C-18, as PM accuses them of ‘bullying tactics’
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti, left, and Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez arrive to a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
explainer
What to know about Bill C-18, the new law that will affect how you get news in Canada
FILE PHOTO: Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo