Google has not yet made a final decision on whether it will restrict access to journalism links from Canadian users if the Canadian government’s proposed online news bill is passed. In March, the tech giant conducted a five-week test that blocked 3.3% of Canadian users from seeing news links when searching for journalism on its search engine. Google confirmed that over one million IP addresses were affected by the test.
Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, testified at the Canadian Heritage committee on Thursday, stating that the company opposes the bill and is continuing to raise concerns. He said, “We have not reached a final decision as to what business actions we might have to take.”
Google stated that it would prefer to contribute to a media fund aligned with the government’s policy goals, while also funding local journalism. Google also argued that its test did not prevent Canadians from seeing news and that news only makes up less than two per cent of searches on Google.
The Canadian government’s online news bill is currently being considered by the Senate after passing in the House of Commons in December. Google’s executives have also been criticized by NDP MP Peter Julian, who sits on the committee, for not apologizing and not indicating that they will not repeat their actions.