Reuters reports that Facebook warned it might block the sharing of news content on its platform in Canada over concerns about legislation that would compel digital platforms to pay news publishers.
The Online News Act was introduced in April. It laid out rules to force platforms like Facebook and Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content. It is similar to a law passed in Australia last year.
Canada's Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who introduced the bill, said in a statement that the government continued to have "constructive conversations" with Facebook.
"All we're asking the tech giants like Facebook to do is negotiate fair deals with news outlets when they profit from their work," Rodriguez said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
