A Google executive suggests the federal government’s online news law is among the “regulatory” factors slowing the rollout of the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot in Canada.
Bard, Google’s generative AI product and competitor to ChatGPT, launched in March and is Now available in 40 languages and 230 countries and territorieswith plans for further expansion “in accordance with local regulations,” the company said.
During a press session Tuesday about Google’s AI projects, Sam Sebastian, vice president and Canada country manager of Google Cloud, said the company considers a country’s “regulatory regime,” among other factors, when deciding where to launch Bard.
Asked what regulations Google is considering when it comes to bringing Bard to Canada, Sebastian pointed to the Online News Act, which would force tech giants and other companies to pay Canadian news producers for links posted on their platforms
“We will be bringing (Bard) here to Canada very soon once we sort out all the regulatory issues,” Sebastian said.
“C-18 (the Online News Act) is the perfect example of how we deal with this brand new legislation (…) that is one of the many things we will be looking at,” he added.
Meta and Google have vehemently opposed the law and blocked Meta from sharing news on Facebook and Instagram in retaliation.
Google has promised to remove Canadian news from its search and will end its Google News Showcase in Canada once the bill takes effect later this year. It previously experimentally blocked news links for some Canadian users earlier this year.
The company has said it is reviewing regulatory requirements before deciding on next steps.
Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google and Alphabet, previously called the bill a “link tax” that “exposes us to unlimited financial liability simply for making it easier for Canadians to access news from Canadian publishers.”
BNNBloomberg.ca has reached out to the federal government for comment.
BCE is the parent company of BNN Bloomberg through its Bell Media division.
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