Google donates money to journalism collective in return for exemption from Online News Act

January 3, 2025 TruthUSA

Google has transferred the $100 million it agreed to pay Canadian news outlets in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act to a journalism organization responsible for distributing the funds.

The U.S. tech giant has confirmed that the money has been sent to the Canadian Journalism Collective, a federally incorporated non-profit organization led by independent publishers and broadcasters.

In mid-December, the collective announced that it was in the process of distributing the initial portion of funds by the end of January to media companies whose content was shared or repurposed by Google.

It is estimated that eligible publishers will receive approximately $13,798 per full-time equivalent journalist they employ based on a 200-hour year, while broadcasters will receive about $6,806 per eligible worker.

No immediate response was provided by the collective regarding a request for comment.

Google, in agreeing to make this payment in 2023, has avoided the requirement of the Online News Act, which mandated that companies like Google and Meta pay for their use of journalism. Meta has circumvented making any payments by restricting access to Canadian news on its platforms.