MPs have diluted a demand that Meta, owner of Facebook, produce a raft of e-mails and texts about the federal online news bill, after the president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned the motion’s wording “poses a serious threat to the privacy of Canadians.”
“It is impossible to know who the next target of this type of measure will be,” he said in the letter, copied to Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez. Google last week finished five weeks of tests of a potential response to Bill C-18, restricting 1.2 million Canadians’ access to news through its search bar.Bill C-18, which is now in the Senate, would make Google and Meta compensate news organizations for posting or linking to their work and both tech giants have called for changes to its wording.
The new motion scrapped a renewed summons for Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer at Alphabet Inc. – Google’s parent company – and Richard Gingras, vice-president of news at Google, to appear before the committee, after Google said voluntarily beforehand they would testify.
Pretty rich when all these companies already sell our data onwards for profit. Completely out-of-touch statement but why expect any different when it comes from Chamber of Commerce who represent business interests ie their members would stand to lose.
Facebook worries about privacy? Oh yes, their own.