Google is testing blocking access to Canadian news sites

 Google is testing ways of blocking Canadians’ access to news websites in response to the federal government’s online news bill, which would force the company and other tech giants to compensate news organizations for using their work.

The restricted access to global and Canadian news sites, which began earlier this month, will continue for five weeks, according to Google spokesman Shay Purdy.

Mr. Purdy said Google is “briefly testing product responses” to the bill, and that the tests will affect less than 4 per cent of Canadians using the search engine. “We run thousands of tests each year to assess any potential changes to Search,” he added.

But the office of federal Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez sharply condemned the move, saying Canadians won’t be intimidated by the tactic.

Laura Scaffidi, a spokeswoman for Mr. Rodriguez, accused Google of imitating Facebook, which in October said it would not rule out blocking Canadians’ access to news if the online news legislation, known as Bill C-18, passes without changes.

In Australia, in 2021, Facebook temporarily blocked access to news on its platforms in response to a similar law. Australians woke up to find that Facebook pages with local and world news sites were unavailable.

The platform lifted the ban days later, after an Australian minister held talks with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, and agreed to make amendments to the bill.

“It’s disappointing to hear that Google seems to be borrowing from Facebook’s playbook. This didn’t work in Australia, and it won’t work here because Canadians won’t be intimidated,” Ms. Scaffidi said. “At the end of the day, all we’re asking the tech giants to do is compensate journalists when they use their work.”

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, a member of the Commons heritage committee, which scrutinized Bill C-18, said Google is attempting to “intimidate Canadians,” and that the tactic would backfire.

“As opposed to what Google hopes to achieve here, my hope is that it has the opposite effect and makes Canadians realize why social media giants need government scrutiny and reasonable regulation,” he said. (CP)