Google blocks news content in Canada as part of test to be ready in case internet censorship bill passes
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The tech giant says that all types of news content are being impacted by its test run, including Canadian news, which it says will run for about five weeks.
(LifeSiteNews) – Tech giant Google is blocking access to some online news content for many Canadians in what it says is a test run to prepare for a federal Liberal government internet censorship bill that might soon become law.
Google, according to a Canadian Press report yesterday, confirmed that it was temporarily limiting news content access for just under 4% of Canadian users.
The limitation of news applies to the Google search engine as well as the Discover feature on Android devices that relays the news to smartphone users.
The tech giant says that all types of news content are being impacted by its test run, including Canadian news, which it says will run for about five weeks.
According to Google, its test run comes in light of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Bill C-18 – also called the “Online News Act.” This bill would force social media companies to pay Canadian legacy media for news content shared on their platforms.
Shay Purdy, a Google spokesperson, noted that the company is “briefly testing potential product responses to Bill C-18,” which impact a very “small percentage of Canadian users.”
Purdy said that Google is being “fully transparent about our concern that C-18 is overly broad,” adding that if left “unchanged” it could “impact products Canadians use and rely on every day.”
Bill C-18 is now in its second reading in the Senate. Late last year, the Trudeau government decided to fast-track Bill C-18, rushing it through the House of Commons.
Critics have warned that Bill C-18 is an attack on independent media, with some cautioning it could lead to the “death” of the free press in Canada.
Dr. Michael Geist, law professor at University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, commented in a blog post today about C-18.
“Bill C-18’s dangerous approach ascribes value to links where there isn’t any, regulates which platforms must pay in order to permit expression from their users, and dictates which sources are entitled to compensation,” Geist wrote.