OTTAWA-
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said he doesn’t appreciate Google “trying to bully Canadians”, after the company pushed back against the government’s proposed online streaming bill.
Google published a blog post on Wednesday arguing against Bill C-11, saying it has the potential to “disadvantage Canadian creators.”
Asked about that criticism, Rodriguez said the bill simply asks streaming companies — including YouTube, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet — to contribute to Canadian culture.
The Online Streaming Bill, which passed the House of Commons and is now in the Senate, would require streaming platforms to promote Canadian television, movies, videos or music and help fund the Canadian content.
YouTube executive Jeanette Patell told a Senate committee last month that she was giving far too much leeway to Canada’s broadcasting regulators to make requests about user-generated content.
Bill C-11 has been strongly opposed by digital creators and Conservative MPs, who claim it would allow a future government to regulate people who post videos on YouTube – a charge the government denies.
In a statement, Patell said YouTube would continue to engage “constructively and transparently” in the conversation about the bill.
“We strongly believe that we have a responsibility to inform Canadian users and creators of the impact this bill could have on their YouTube experience and, in some cases, their livelihoods,” Patell said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 6, 2022.