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Bill C-18 is a big wet kiss to a few large Canadian Media companies. Their business model is under stress because of the internet. Link taxes won't fix this a

Bill C-18 is a big wet kiss to a few large Canadian Media companies. Their business model is under stress because of the internet. Link taxes won't fix this and they set a terrible precedent. Quoting from Candaland[0]. "In Australia, an estimated 90 per cent of negotiated revenues flowed to the three largest media companies." That hardly bodes well for independent journalism. This is just a shakedown. [0] https://www.canadaland.com/canadas-online-news-act-must-be-transparent-fair-and-include-news-innovators/ https://www.canadaland.com/canadas-online-news-act-must-be-t...

ttul 4y ago
I scanned through the bill (at third reading [1]). On the face of it, it seems to be intended to "level the playing field" between powerful search engines and social media platforms and Canadian news organizations, allegedly because "there is a significant bargaining power imbalance" between the platforms and the journalists. But if you have lived in Canada for any length of time, you will know that this is a country ruled by a small number of highly profitable corporations, which are largely controlled by a few wealthy families. For instance: - Corus Entertainment is 80% controlled by the family of JR Shaw. - Rogers Communications is controlled by the family of Ted Rogers (via a trust) - Quebecor is controlled by Pierre Péladeau Indeed, only BCE (the company that owns Bell Canada) is truly a diversely controlled public corporation. So really, this bill could be considered as the government acting to protect the interests of three wealthy Canadian families. [1] https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/third-reading https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/third-r...
- cmrdporcupine 4y ago
  Yep; Canada retains the structure of a colonial outpost, just without the colonial master. Echoes of the Family Compact, 200 years later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Compact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Compact

ttul 4y ago

I scanned through the bill (at third reading [1]). On the face of it, it seems to be intended to "level the playing field" between powerful search engines and social media platforms and Canadian news organizations, allegedly because "there is a significant bargaining power imbalance" between the platforms and the journalists. But if you have lived in Canada for any length of time, you will know that this is a country ruled by a small number of highly profitable corporations, which are largely controlled by a few wealthy families. For instance: - Corus Entertainment is 80% controlled by the family of JR Shaw. - Rogers Communications is controlled by the family of Ted Rogers (via a trust) - Quebecor is controlled by Pierre Péladeau Indeed, only BCE (the company that owns Bell Canada) is truly a diversely controlled public corporation. So really, this bill could be considered as the government acting to protect the interests of three wealthy Canadian families. [1] https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/third-reading https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/third-r...

cmrdporcupine 4y ago
Yep; Canada retains the structure of a colonial outpost, just without the colonial master. Echoes of the Family Compact, 200 years later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Compact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Compact