The Canadian government introduced a bill on Tuesday to allow web giants such as Facebook and Googleto enter into commercial agreements with the media to pay them for the distribution of their content.

“Thanks to this law, the giants of the web will have to be held accountable and help build a more equitable information ecosystem, one that supports independence and freedom of the press,” Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodríguez said in a statement. a press conference.

The text aims to “ensure that the media and journalists receive fair compensation for their work,” the ministry said in a statement.

The account, called “Online News Act” (Online News Act), is inspired by the law passed by Australia in 2021, the first of its kind in the world.

According to the ministry, more than 450 Canadian media outlets have been closed since 2008, including more than 60 in the past two years.

The press accuses the Google group and other major platforms of profiting from their content without sharing the revenue they get from it.

To remedy this situation, the European Union introduced a “neighbouring right” in 2019 that should allow press publishers to receive compensation for the content used by online platforms.

The AFP signed a “related rights” agreement with Google in late 2021 that rewards the agency for five years for the content presented by the American giant, as well as two commercial contracts, also signed for five years.