OTTAWA – The organization administering the $100 million Google agreed to pay Canadian news outlets in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act says the payments will begin later than first expected.
The Canadian Journalism Collective says work is underway to assess applicants and that news businesses should expect to find out if they are eligible between mid-February and mid-March.
If eligible, payment will follow two weeks after the collective receives a signed recipient agreement and banking information.
The collective had earlier expected the cash to start reaching media businesses whose work was shared or repurposed by Google by the end of January.
Google secured a five-year exemption from the Online News Act by agreeing to pay $100 million a year to media organizations.
Facebook and Instagram-owner Meta has avoided having to make any payments by blocking access to Canadian news on its platforms.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025.
