Here’s the key issue and principle buried deep at the bottom of the article.
She said a main area of discussion at the confab is how globally-minded digital companies had “really revolutionized our industries for a lot of good reasons” and added: “No one is saying to get Facebook or Google out of Canada — Canadians love and appreciate these services.”
Tait said Canadian broadcasters and services were required to pay taxes and services and invest in Canadian content, meaning companies as powerful as Alphabet and Meta would simply be paying into a existing system. “We all have requirements regarding local news so that there is a provision in a country of only 40 million to support our own domestic industry,” she said. “We would ask Facebook to be held responsible in the way we treat our own companies.”
We all have requirements regarding local news
“Well all” meaning broadcasters. That is the deal in exchange for using public airwaves.
Facebook doesn’t broadcast over public airwaves…
Exactly social media sites are not broadcasters, why should they pay to provide a link to forward users to a broadcasters website.
I would understand if a social media site wanted to summarize a news article for it’s users to keep its users on its site. This would theoretically make a social media site a broadcaster.
Its like asking a convince store to pay a Canadian News Tax because they provide newspapers inside their store.
This would theoretically make a social media site a broadcaster.
Not without a license allowing them to transmit radio and/or TV signals. Of which there would be no reason for Facebook to have.
It might make them a news agency, but news agencies are not subject to broadcasting regulations. Only broadcasters are subject to broadcasting regulations. The CBC is a broadcaster. Facebook is not.
