Online News Act Application Rules

Summary#

The federal government has put into force the Online News Act Application and Exemption Regulations (SOR/2023-276). They set the tests and steps large digital platforms must follow to show the Online News Act applies to them, and the conditions under which platforms can be exempted by reaching deals with news businesses. The rules took effect on December 19, 2023.

What it does#

• Defines which platforms the Act applies to:
  • The operator must have total revenue over $1 billion in the previous year.
  • The platform must be a search engine with at least 20 million unique Canadian visitors per month, or a social media service with at least 20 million active Canadian users per month.
• Requires a platform that meets those tests to tell the regulator (the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)) within 180 days after the Act begins to apply to it.
• Sets rules for platforms seeking an exemption instead of entering mandatory bargaining:
  • Platforms must run an “open call” for at least 60 days for news businesses that want compensation, publish who responds, and share that information with the CRTC.
  • Agreements must show how monetary and non-monetary compensation is handled. News businesses must attest they are eligible and that their news is made available on the platform.
  • Agreements must commit that a majority of monetary compensation will be used to support local, regional, or national news production.
  • Agreements must protect editorial independence (no retaliation, no editorial intervention).
  • The regulator will judge “fair compensation” by comparing deals for similar news businesses and markets.
• Special rule for the largest search engine by Canadian ad share:
  • To meet the “sustainability” test, that search engine must provide at least $100 million per year (indexed to inflation).
• If a platform negotiates with a single group representing multiple news businesses:
  • The group must distribute money equitably based on full‑time equivalent newsroom staff.
  • No more than 30% of monetary compensation may go to broadcasters (other than the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and no more than 7% may go to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Who's affected#

• Large global platforms that meet the tests (for example, Google and Meta were mentioned in consultations) are the primary targets.
• News businesses across Canada, including independent outlets, Indigenous outlets, and official language minority community outlets, may be eligible to bargain or join collectives to receive compensation.
• The CRTC will administer exemption requests and oversee parts of the process.
• Canadian Heritage led the regulatory development and engagement.
• Smaller newsrooms could be affected indirectly through collective agreements and how compensation is distributed.

Why it matters#

• The rules aim to push large digital platforms to pay news organizations for the value of news content that appears on their services. That could bring new revenue into Canadian newsrooms, especially local and regional outlets.
• They try to protect editorial independence by forcing platform agreements to forbid retaliation or editorial interference.
• The regulations give clear numeric tests so platforms know whether the law applies to them, and they lay out a predictable path to exemptions through voluntary deals or collective agreements.
• There is real-world risk of platforms responding by blocking news content; some platforms signalled they might or did restrict news availability during the law’s passage.
• The CRTC still has work to do: it will interpret and apply these rules in practice, and its decisions will shape how much money and which outlets ultimately benefit.