Liberals to reboot controversial C-10, along with bill forcing digital giants to pay for news – National Post

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The federal government will also reintroduce its controversial Broadcasting Act update, known as Bill C-10, 'very soon.' They haven't said if any changes will be made

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The Liberal government is preparing to reboot its controversial broadcasting bill, the online streaming act, which it unsuccessfully attempted to pass last Parliament as Bill C-10, even as it plans within days totable legislation to force big social media platforms like Facebook and Google to share revenue with news publishers.

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Liberal government House Leader Mark Holland told reporters Monday that a bill for the streaming act, which would subject internet companies to government regulation much as broadcasters are, will be presented very soon. When asked about the news-compensation legislation, Holland said that you should expect to see this bill in the coming days.

The mandate letter for Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, released in December, directs him to introduce legislation to require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news content to share a portion of their revenues with Canadian news outlets.

The letter said the legislation should follow the Australian approach, which imposes bargaining rules for publishers and online platforms. The bills biggest targets are Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Google. Both companies strongly opposed the Australian law when it was introduced.

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The Broadcasting Act update, which sets up the CRTC to begin regulating online companies like Netflix, drew strong opposition in the last Parliament when the government removed an exemption for user-generated content. Critics charged that was a violation of free expression rights, and though the Liberals then limited the CRTCs power over social media content, that wasnt enough to alleviate free speech concerns.

While the government managed to pass the bill through the House of Commons at the last minute, with the support of the Bloc and NDP, C-10 hit a wall in the Senate when senators refused to fast-track it.

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The Conservatives have already signalled their opposition to its re-introduction. In a Jan. 19 letter to Rodriguez, Conservative heritage critic John Nater asked the government not to bring the legislation back. Bill C-10 is so deeply flawed and controversial that it would not be in the interests of Canadians to reintroduce it, Nater wrote.

Holland declined to say whether the re-introduced bill will include any changes to address free speech concerns. The minister will be speaking to that when it is presented in terms of any changes that might be present in the bill, he said.

The news compensation bill and the legislation previously known as C-10 were two parts of a trio of online regulation bills the Liberals promised to introduce within 100 days, following last falls federal election.

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The third piece of that is the online harms bill, aimed at terrorist content, content that incites violence, hate speech, intimate images shared non-consensually and child sexual exploitation. But the draft legislation was lambasted in a consultation by experts, Google and even research librarians, who warned the government in written submissions the plan would result in the blocking of legitimate content and lead to censorship.

The mandate letter for Rodriguez then told him to continue working on developing that legislation, noting it should be reflective of the feedback received during the recent consultations.

When he was asked whether that legislation will also be introduced shortly, Holland said Monday there will be more information regarding online harms very soon.

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Liberals to reboot controversial C-10, along with bill forcing digital giants to pay for news - National Post