Google’s news-blocking test a ‘terrible mistake’: PM Justin Trudeau

As search engine Google, in the past few days, started carrying out test news blocking for certain Canadians in response to the liberal government’s Online News Act, PM Justin Trudeau, while speaking to reporters on Friday, asserted that it was a “terrible mistake” on the part of Alphabet Inc.

The Online News Act by the liberal government, which is expected to be passed as a law, would require tech giants like Alphabet Inc, which owns google, to pay journalists and publishers for their news content in Canada.

Earlier this week, Google confirmed the test news content blocking, citing that the test was only applicable to less than four percent of its users.

The bill would enable remuneration to digital content publishers by covering 30% of their costs of creating news content, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Tech firms like Alphabet Inc. and Meta would be required to negotiate deals with news publishers in order to use news from said creators.

Speaking to reporters in Toronto, Friday, PM Trudeau started off by stating that something was “bothering” him.

“It really surprises me that Google has decided that they’d rather prevent Canadians from accessing news than actually paying journalists for the work they do…I think that’s a terrible mistake and I know Canadians expect journalists to be well paid for the work they do,” PM Trudeau stated further on Friday.