Canada and Australia coordinate on technology regulation: Ottawa

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison plan to coordinate their efforts to get the tech giants to pay the media for their content, Ottawa said on Tuesday after a conversation between the two leaders.

“Premiers noted the growing cooperation between Canada and Australia on the regulation of online platforms,” ​​said a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada.

“They agreed to continue to coordinate efforts to tackle online damage and ensure that the revenues of the web giants are shared more equitably with creators and the media.”

Their conversation, which took place on Monday, came after Facebook blocked Australian users from accessing news content on its platform in response to a regulatory bill under consideration in the country’s parliament.

The U.S. social media giant, however, said on Tuesday it would lift the news ban after the move sparked outrage in Australia and around the world.

Australia’s bill, the first of its kind in the world, is being fiercely opposed by the tech titans over provisions that would govern online financial relationships between these companies and the media.

Canada, the European Union and others have also sought to regulate major players in the tech sector, including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, including through France’s 2019 tech tax.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has led efforts to establish such a tax internationally.

© 2021 AFP