
THE FUTURE OF YOUR LOCAL NEWS IS AT STAKE
Google and Facebook are two of the biggest companies in the world.
You might say they're modern-day Goliaths. They are using their monopoly power to scoop up 80% of online advertising revenues and to free ride on the news content produced by hardworking journalists and publishers across Canada.
Maybe it's time to start leveling the playing field a little, so the Davids of this world can start fighting back. That's what Australia is doing. They're putting in place a comprehensive solution to enable news publishers in that country to counteract the power of the web giants. They're doing it with support from all the main political parties. And they're doing it without new government funding, or new taxes, or new consumer fees. We think our parliament here in Canada should do the same.
It's all in our new report Levelling the Digital Playing Field which provides an in-depth analysis of actions taken in democracies around the world to address the same challenge.
Read the report.
And tell your MP to stand up with
David against the Goliaths.
“A strong, diverse and independent news media is valued by Canadians and crucial to our democracy.
Publishing real news costs money, and Google and Facebook – two of the biggest companies in the world – cannot continue to be allowed to free-ride on the backs of Canadian news media publishers who produce news content, without fair compensation.
We have heard the global web giants’ hollow commitment to journalism and to token compensation. The time to tackle the global web giants, as the federal government indicated in September, is now.”

In the News
On October 22, 2020 Canada’s news media publishers called on all political parties in Parliament to support the adoption of Australia’s approach to combat the monopolistic practices of Google and Facebook.
- Toronto Star - ‘Highly irresponsible’: Ottawa blasts Facebook’s ban on the sharing of news in Australia
- Toronto Star - Facebook has just cut off Australia’s access to news in the middle of a pandemic — another reason why government intervention is needed now
- Toronto Star - Microsoft voices support for Canadian news publishers getting paid by big tech companies
- Financial Post - With new legislation, Steven Guilbeault will make few friends in Big Tech
- The Standard - Decline of local news in U.S. among the factors that led to Capitol insurrection
- Toronto Star - Google and Facebook got growing share of federal ad dollars after Justin Trudeau took power
- National Post – The tech industry’s disinformation campaign
- Hamilton News – It’s time Google and Facebook starting paying for the content that’s making them rich
- Toronto Star - Why Canada’s media industry is in more danger than you think — and what we can do to save it
- Toronto Star - News Media Canada says forcing big tech to pay for content could help pay for 700 journalism jobs
- National Post - NP View: In the shadows, democracy withers
- St. Catharines Standard - Niagara Liberal MPs say Facebook, Google should share ad revenues with Canada’s news content producers
- The Peterborough Examiner - US digital giants profit from Peterborough journalists' work
- Vauxhall Advance - Canadian publishers call on feds to address online monopoly
- iPolitics - Like Australia, Canada should force web giants to split ad dollars with news media: report
- Toronto Star - Ottawa now has a road map to rein in digital giants
- Toronto Star - Reliable news is essential for democracy. What responsibility does Big Tech have to make sure it remains accessible?
- Toronto Star - Canada’s newspaper publishers call for a new regulatory regime to safeguard trusted journalism
- Ottawa Citizen - News publishers call on Ottawa to level playing field
- Global News - Canadian media group: Tech companies should pay for news
- Global News - Canadian publishers call for collective bargaining with Google, Facebook
- The Abbotsford News – National media calling for level playing field with Google, Facebook
- The Toronto Sun – Newspaper publishers ask feds for level playing field with Google, Facebook
- Toronto Star – Canadian media outlets challenge the government to save the industry with new measures to rein in big tech
- National Post – Canadian publishers call on Ottawa to force Big Tech to pay for news
- National Post – What happens with a local newspaper dies?
- Financial Post – Diane Francis: Ottawa must take on the tech bullies
- Financial Post – Big Tech’s gain has been new publishers’ pain, industry group’s report finds
- Financial Post – Unpacking the “Australian precedent” for rebalancing power between Big Tech and news publishers
- East Central Alberta Review - 21st Century Robber Barons
- CBC – Sustaining journalism for Canadians