Canada to Follow Australia in News Content Legislation

Canada to Follow Australia in News Content Legislation
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Canada will follow in the footsteps of Australia by introducing legislation requiring Facebook to pay for news content from local publishers. The new rules will be unveiled in the coming months.

Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault said one option would be requiring companies including Facebook and Google to agree deals with local news outlets for their content directly or through an arbitration process, Reuters reported. Another possibility is a model adopted in France which calls for talks between the companies and news providers regarding compensation for content use.

Canada reportedly discussed collaboration with France, Australia, Germany and Finland on the issue. Tougher rules were also reportedly being considered by the UK government and the German Newspaper Publishers and Digital Publishers Association (BDZV).