Google is dropping local news links in Canada

Google will be removing links to Canadian news in Search, News, and Discover following the recent passage of the Online News Act in Canada, according to a blog post by Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs. The law, also called Bill C-18, forces big tech companies like Google and Meta to pay news publishers for their content.

“The unprecedented decision to put a price on links (a so-called ‘link tax’) creates uncertainty for our products and exposes us to uncapped financial liability simply for facilitating Canadians’ access to news from Canadian publishers,” Walker wrote. “We have been saying for over a year that this is the wrong approach to supporting journalism in Canada and may result in significant changes to our products.”