Will Canada’s new Online News Act require a rethink of integrated communications?

BILL C-18: CANADA’S ONLINE NEWS ACT 

The Online News Act was developed to regulate digital intermediaries, such as search engines and social media platforms—think Google, Bing, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads), and X (formerly Twitter)—to fairly compensate media outlets for posting news stories on their platforms. Bill C-18 is intended to support news businesses operating within Canada. It will include criteria that make it essential for qualified Canadian news organizations to regularly employ two or more journalists in Canada.  

Canada isn’t the first country to try to regulate search engines and social media platforms to compensate media outlets for posting news stories on their platforms. Australia passed a similar law called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code in 2021. 

Canada’s Bill C-18 received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023, but despite not yet coming into force, the reaction from search engines and social media platforms was swift. In response to Bill C-18, Google and Meta have taken the significant step of removing news content from their platforms in Canada. 

In a June blog post, Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs for Google & Alphabet, stated: 

“We have informed the Government that we have made the difficult decision that when the law takes effect we will be removing links to Canadian news from our Search, News, and Discover products and will no longer be able to operate Google News Showcase in Canada.” 

At the same time, Meta posted an update stating: 

“Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect.” 

According to Meta, the changes would impact Canadian and international news outlets. While these outlets would still have access to their accounts and pages, and they can post news links and content, some content will not be visible to users in Canada.

MORE DIFFICULT FOR CANADIANS TO ACCESS AND SHARE NEWS ONLINE 

The decisions by Meta and Google to remove links to Canadian news will make it more difficult for Canadians to access timely and relevant news. Meta estimates that Facebook’s newsfeed sent registered news organizations in Canada more than 1.9 billion clicks from April 2021 to April 2022.  

For some, the limited reach of what you may consider a negative story could be viewed as a positive when it comes to limiting the harm to your reputation. On the other hand, it will now restrict the distribution of positive news stories that can benefit your reputation.

DECISIONS BECAUSE OF C-18 WILL HAVE A LIMITED IMPACT ON PESO IMPLEMENTATION

The team at Iris takes an integrated communications approach across paid (traditional, social, digital ads), earned (media relations), shared (social media), and owned (website) channels—known as the PESO Model—to help our clients reach those who matter most to them. This integrated approach ensures that all communications channels work together to have the most significant impact and deliver measurable results.

The PESO Model our team plans and implements for our clients remains the most effective way to tell your story and reach those you care about the most. This integrated approach ensures that the communications channels you have access to are working together to have the greatest impact.

At a high level, we work with our clients to develop content that is relevant to their key audiences, use their website (owned media) to host the content, social media to distribute it, paid media (e.g., social and digital ads, traditional advertising) to amplify it, and earned media to add credibility.

Google and Meta’s decision when it comes to Bill C-18 will have the most significant impact on earned media and social media. Still, that impact will be minimal if you implement a strategic PESO approach.  

The main impact will be your ability to share content directly from a news outlet’s website on your social media channels. Without the ability to share the content directly, we suggest posting a synopsis of the news content on your organization’s website with a link back to the original news story on the outlet’s website. You can then share the link to the synopsis on your website and your social media channels. 

However, within the PESO Model, earned media goes beyond traditional media relations and can appear in any form of promotion that your consumers create for you. This includes social media shares or mentions, product/company reviews, link building (blog content), and influencer and blogger relations, to name just a few of the tactics we consider while working with our clients.

Despite the impacts of Bill C-18, earned media in the form of these collective tactics remains a crucial pillar of our communications approach to boost visibility, credibility, and trust with existing and potential customers and partners.

The changes brought on by Bill C-18 highlight the importance of having a well-designed website that hosts and positions your organization’s news. We all can—and should be—publishers in telling our own stories. It is more important than ever to use your website and post content that tells your story and markets your business, organization, or brand—then be strategic and use the appropriate paid, earned, and shared channels to reach your audiences and beyond.

We anticipate the impacts resulting from Bill C-18 will change over time as Canadians adapt and find new ways to access news in a timely manner. Our team will continue to provide our clients with the most up-to-date information, tactics, and trends as these changes develop.

APPLY THE PESO MODEL TO YOUR ORGANIZATION 

Like most Canadians, we are waiting to see what impact the decisions related to Bill C-18 will have on the Canadian media, social media, and the digital landscape, but in the meantime, we have stories to help our clients tell.

Members of the Iris team have completed the PESO Model Certification through the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and have worked directly with the PESO Model founder, Gini Dietrich.

Reach out to one of our consultants to discuss the PESO Model and how we can support your organization’s goals.