Trudeau’s government reached a historic agreement with Google, how did they do it?

Google and the Canadian government have reached a $100 million agreement on the controversial Bill C-18, also known as the Online Information Act.

REDEVANCES AUX MÉDIAS | Le gouvernement fédéral s’entend avec Google pour 100 millions de dollars https://t.co/ql0sNjjJqy pic.twitter.com/rseW6Rdmur

— TVA nouvelles (@tvanouvelles) November 29, 2023

After months of negotiations, Google will continue to provide Canadian information on its various platforms, as Google has reportedly agreed to pay Canadian media companies $100 million a year to help them comply with the agreement.

Details of the application and implementation of this settlement had not yet been revealed at the time of writing, while Minister St. Onge would make the official announcement on Parliament Hill.

BREAKING: Canadian government reaches C-18 online news deal with Google: sources https://t.co/K0F8cfNBAk

— CTV News (@CTVNews) November 29, 2023

Google had initially expressed serious concerns about the bill, which the company described as a link tax that, according to Google, would have threatened the basis on which search engines have operated for over thirty years.

Google threatened to remove Canadian news articles from its search results in protest at the proposed regulations. This would have had a considerable impact on the accessibility of online information for Canadians, after Facebook had implemented the same threats earlier this year.

The announcement of this landmark agreement is a major development for Canadian information after a period of uncertainty, particularly over a future settlement with Meta, the giant behind Facebook and Instagram.

The agreement with Google was reached just before the December 19 deadline, when Bill C-18 will be implemented.