Your voice at Committee: OpenMedia testifies before the Senate on Bill C-18

OpenMedia testified to the Senate on the impact of C-18; here’s how it went.

On May 31st, OpenMedia testified before the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications on the potential impact of Bill C-18, The Online News Act. In our testimony, we focused on two key aspects missing from Bill C-18 – truth and trust. To view our opening remarks, click here.

In our testimony,  we emphasized that Bill C-18 is built on the false premise that large online services are collecting large amounts of revenue from news stories being shared on their platforms and the government's assumption that this bill will finally level the playing field for Canada's dying news industry. Despite the collapse of local journalism outlets in the past decade, not a single dollar in Bill C-18 is earmarked to revive them. Instead, the negotiations and revenue distribution favour the few remaining legacy media conglomerates. We're not reopening local journalism, folks; we're rewarding the big guys and leaving the little guys behind. That's just not right.

We urged the Senate Committee to prioritize transparency and clarity in Bill C-18. We emphasized the importance of clearly defining who qualifies for subsidies and why, along with a transparent process that is open to public scrutiny. You can read more about these issues and others we’ve flagged here.

All of this couldn't be done without you. With your support, our community has sent over 12,000 messages to the government on Bill C-18. Your hard work and commitment to keeping the Internet open and to protecting freedom of expression shaped our testimony. Your perspectives will play a vital role in the Senate Committees' analysis and recommendations on what to do with Bill C-18 moving forward.

If you haven't already, will you sign the petition demanding that the Senate fix Bill C-18 to protect strong, independent, and quality news? 

Already taken action? You can keep up the fight by sharing our message with everyone you know on Facebook, Twitter, or by email!