Bill C18 = media control by gov
Dear Maren,
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez recently announced the government’s latest attempt to regulate Canada’s Internet; Bill C-18, the Online News Act.1 There’s a real crisis behind C-18 — the drying up of advertising funding that supported news organizations in the 20th century. But C-18’s solution is a disaster, making news financially INDEBTED to BIG TECH.2
Quality journalism must always be fully independent — but Bill C-18 ‘fixes’ the problem of news funding through a convoluted system that makes news producers increasingly dependent on online platforms and a secret government news approval system, threatening their critical role in holding these powerful bodies accountable.
This is a perfect example of the right impulse, but the wrong execution. We CANNOT allow all news organizations in this country to become shills to Big Tech. We’re about to launch a brand new campaign to fight back against C-18 but we need your support NOW to ensure it gets … Continue reading