OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada and Google have reached an agreement in their dispute over a new law that aims to make large internet companies share advertising revenue with news publishers in the country, CBC News reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
If confirmed, the deal would keep news stories in Google search results – which had been under threat since the Alphabet-owned company said it would block news on its platform once the online news law takes effect.
Google Canada and the Canadian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agreement reported by CBC News would see Canadian news continue to be shared on Google’s platforms in return for the company making annual payments to news companies in the range of C$100 million ($73.6 million).
The Canadian government and Google agreed on the regulatory framework earlier this week, according to the report.
The Online News Act, part of a global trend to make internet giants pay for news, passed the Canadian parliament in June and the government is finalizing rules that are expected to be released by a Dec. 19 deadline.
Google has said Canada’s law is more stringent than the ones in Europe and Australia, and raised concerns about the company being exposed potentially uncapped liability.
Last month, a Canadian news industry body lent support to some of Google’s concerns about the new law.
Meta Platforms, the other internet giant that is the target of the law, has already blocked news sharing on Facebook and Instagram over its concerns about the law.
($1 = 1.3593 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
