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Online News Act Receives Royal Assent

The Online News Act will come into force in six months, requiring Meta and Google to pay media outlets for news content in Canada.

CANADA - Google and Meta will have to pay media outlets for the news content they share or repurpose on their platforms.

The Senate has passed the federal government's Online News Act and it has also been given royal assent. This means it will take effect in six months.

Officials say the bill is supposed to create a level playing field between online advertising giants and the shrinking news industry.

Meta has said that it will remove news from Facebook and Instagram in Canada in order to comply with the bill, but it didn't provide specific dates. Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says he's going to push back against such threats.

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