Google said it made the payment under an agreement with the Canadian government.
Canada’s Online News Act, Bill C-18, requires companies like Meta and Google to pay fees to Canadian media organizations for the use of their news content on their platforms.
In order to be exempt from this law, Meta announced in June 2023 that it would end Canadians’ access to news on Facebook and Instagram. As of August 1, 2023, Meta has completely terminated access to news for Facebook and Instagram users in Canada.