Google Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are still fighting the Liberal government over its Online News Act. The act will make tech giants pay Canadian news outlets for using their content. Even if it is just a link on Google News, or Meta's Facebook.
Due to this impending act, Google says it won’t launch Bard, its new AI chatbot that can link to news, in Canada because of the law. It also plans to remove Canadian news links from its other services.
Bard is already available in most other countries, including the EU where Google resolved some legal issues. However, the Online News Act could cause major issues with news distribution in the event of more wildfires or other major news events.
Meta is also against the law and is running ads on Facebook, which it owns, to oppose it and explain why it’s taking down news from the platform. This game of chicken between Google, Meta, and Ottawa will come to a head in about six months when the law goes into effect.
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