In this March 13, 2018, file photo, members of the media with microphones wait for President Donald Trump to speak to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The Online News Act will require tech giants Google and Meta to compensate media companies for Canadian journalism they link to or repurpose on their platforms by the end of the year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Andrew Harnik, File
In this March 13, 2018, file photo, members of the media with microphones wait for President Donald Trump to speak to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The Online News Act will require tech giants Google and Meta to compensate media companies for Canadian journalism they link to or repurpose on their platforms by the end of the year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Andrew Harnik, File
Social media users looking to understand a recent spate of legislation targeting technology companies may have seen posts suggesting the Canadian government has set its sights on regulating some aspects of the news. A post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, claimed the government had stopped social media companies from sharing news, demanded streaming companies register with the government for content regulation and created a registry of journalists. This is false. Legislation has not asked social media companies to stop sharing news, nor has it created a journalist registry.
The comes from Kaz Nejatian, chief operating officer and vice-president of product at Shopify Inc., an Ottawa-headquartered e-commerce software giant.
"What would we do if a country in Eastern Europe had stopped social media companies from sharing news, demanded streaming companies register with the government for content regulation, and created a registry of journalists?" Nejatian said in the post.
"That's what is happening in Canada. Right now."
Rating: False
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, whose portfolio includes legislation linked to Nejatian's comments, disputed his post.
"To see a senior tech executive try to misrepresent the facts goes to show why we need journalists doing their work of checking sources, doing research, and being accountable for what they present," she wrote in an emailed statement.
"We support journalists who do their work professionally and help keep the dialogue rooted in reality.â€
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission similarly denied Nejatian's claims.
"The CRTC is not creating a registry of journalists," spokeswoman Mirabella Salem said in an email.
"Journalists are not regulated in any way by the CRTC."
Shopify did not respond to a request for comment.
Online news under the microscope
Nejatian's comments are likely a reference to two sets of legislation the federal government has been pursuing.
The first, the Online News Act known as Bill C-18, will require tech giants Google and Meta to compensate media companies for Canadian journalism they link to or repurpose on their platforms by the end of the year.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, lobbied against the legislation, claiming news is of its business and removing it would result in little revenue loss for the social networking giant.
When the act passed, Meta decided to to news from Canadian publishers on its platforms. Google has since threatened to follow suit.
The government has yet to shape its final set of regulations, but contrary to Nejatian's claims, the act does not compel social media companies to stop sharing news. Instead, it creates between news organizations and large digital platforms who display news content, with final arbitration by the CRTC.
"This act does not ask or require the CRTC to create any kind of registry of journalists, nor does it permit the CRTC to interfere in any way with what news is created or made available," Salem said.
Streaming shakeup
The second portion of Nejatian's post is likely a reference to Canada's Online Streaming Act, formally known as Bill C-11.
The bill forces online broadcasters to contribute to the creation, production and distribution of Canadian content in a bid to support Indigenous content and original French-language programming. Its implementation and enforcement will be overseen by the CRTC.
The CRTC asked services that broadcast audio or video,and thus could eventually fall under the bill,which has not yet come into force, to register with the regulator — not the government — , a requirement already in place for large cable companies.
The Liberal government and the CRTC have said they with the legislation. Former heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez has even described the legislation as
in the Canada Gazette tells the CRTC to leave out social media users who upload content online.
"The CRTC is requiring certain large online streaming services with $10 million or more in Canadian revenue, like Netflix, Crave and Spotify, to provide some basic information (i.e., their contact information and what services they offer)," Salem said.
"This is intended to give the CRTC an initial understanding of the Canadian online broadcasting landscape. Streaming services and Canadians took part in a broad consultation. The decision was based on the public record."
A previous Canadian Press fact check on other claims about the Online Streaming Act and Online News Act can be found here.
Sources
The claim can be found on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, ()
You can find out more about ¹ú²úÓÕ»ó¸£Àû here and about Canadian Press Fact Checks here. To reach our fact-checking team with any tips, corrections or comments, please email us at cpfactcheck@thecanadianpress.com.
