Rodriguez leaves door open to regulating Meta's new social media platform Threads
Canada's Heritage Minister is leaving the door open to regulating new social media platform Threads under a bill forcing Google and Meta to pay publishers for content they link to or repurpose.
Asked Wednesday whether he had given any thought to capturing Meta's new social network in the Online News Act known as Bill C-18, Pablo Rodriguez said, "that's going to be eventually included in the regulation."
"It could be captured by the bill. We're looking at that," he said.
"We don't know yet, but it's going to be more precise as we go into regulations."
The text and images platform has garnered at least 100 million users since it sprang up last Wednesday, after the act targeting Meta properties Facebook and Instagram along with Google's search engine and news products received royal assent on June 22.
The act has since sparked a tit-for-tat relationship between the digital giants and the federal government.
The two tech companies, who lobbied against the legislation, have promised to block access to news from Canadian publishers, while Rodriguez has refused to back down on seeking compensation for Canada's journalism industry.
In his latest salvo, he pulled the federal government's $10 million in annual advertising spend from Meta's platforms last week.
News and telecommunications businesses Quebecor, Bell Media, Torstar Corp., Cogeco, and Postmedia Network Canada Corp. made the same move, which was replicated by the Universite de Montreal on Wednesday.
Rodriguez has spared Google such treatment despite its promise to block Canadian publishers' content because he believes its concerns will be managed by regulations the government is still formulating as it works towards the bill's formal implementation later this year.
"Google decided to stay at the table and keep discussing with us. Meta took the bully approach and decided not to discuss with us anymore," said Rodriquez.
"Since then, we met with Google on Friday... are working on having an update this week."
Rodriguez declined to discuss the specifics of the conversations he has been having with Google, but said they have been "open, frank discussions."
"I think they are going in the right direction," he said.
His conversations with Google come as he released a document Monday saying that he was proposing a financial cap on how much Google and Facebook would have to provide in compensation to media companies that it based on a platform's estimated Canadian revenues, and would be specific to each platform and their position within the news marketplace.
The proposal reaffirms that non-monetary offerings to news organizations, such as training, could be included as exemption grounds and works to provide clarity on what constitutes a "significant portion" of independent local news businesses, Indigenous news outlets, and official-language minority community news outlets.
"I think that we demonstrated what we've been saying all along: that a lot of the clarification that (the digital giants) requested is coming through the regulations," Rodriguez said.
While he didn't get into specifics around what the financial cap digital giants must pay could be or how many organizations they will need to broker deals with, he stressed that the regulations will touch every province and territory, impact English and French publications and ensure Indigenous media and outlets of all sizes are represented.
CBC, the country's public broadcaster, could also gobble up some cash through the act, Rodriguez said, but that will come down Google and Meta and who they chose to strike deals with.
While such matters are still be worked out, Rodriguez said he remains open to meeting with Meta.
"We don't want confrontation. We were very disappointed by Meta's attitude, which is in our opinion, irresponsible," he said.
"We're not acting the same way, we're saying guys, come at the table."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2023.
---
Meta funds a limited number of fellowships that support emerging journalists at The Canadian Press.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
Hezbollah targets base near Haifa after Israeli strike in Beirut killed 37, including top commander
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.