Google announced Friday that it had paid 100 million Canadian dollars to Canadian media to use their content, as part of an agreement with the government which accuses it of anti-competitive practices in the online advertising market.
In November, the Canadian Competition Bureau launched proceedings against Google, ruling that Canada’s largest provider of internet advertising technology had abused its dominant position by adopting “behavior intended to ensure the maintenance and consolidation of its commercial power.
The funds were paid to the Canadian Journalism Collective, a non-profit organization created specifically to manage the distribution of this money, a Google spokesperson confirmed to AFP.
The digital giant intends to continue to meet its commitments under this agreement, which provides for a new payment at the end of 2025, added this spokesperson.
Paul Deegan, the president of News Media Canada, an organization representing hundreds of publishers, welcomed an agreement offering remuneration “much higher” than what has been done elsewhere, with each media outlet able to hope to obtain 20,000 Canadian dollars per journalist.
The Californian group is currently before the courts in the United States. The US Department of Justice asked a judge in November to order the sale of its Chrome search engine, which has been criticized for anti-competitive practices.
In another trial, a jury in a federal court in Washington has already found Google guilty of anti-competitive practices in Internet search.
Google’s advertising practices are also the subject of investigations or proceedings in the United Kingdom and the European Union.
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