Canada: Introduced Online News Act (Bill C-18) including fair compensation requirement

On 5 April 2022, the Online News Act (Bill C-18) was introduced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage. The Act intends to create a new legal and regulatory framework to provide fair treatment in the Canadian digital news marketplace and ensure that news outlets and journalists are fairly compensated by digital platforms. Bill C-18 would oblige large platform providers to negotiate equitable agreements with media outlets that share content on their platforms and assist the media outlets within these negotiations. News organisations would be allowed to bargain collectively. Other measures covered in the Bill are respecting journalistic independence and investing in a diversity of Canadian news outlets, including independent local enterprises. The Bill explicitly states Australian regulation as a precedent.