A legal showdown in the United States could significantly shift how news is distributed and paid for online, and Canadian publishers have a lot riding on the outcome.
The U.S. Department of Justice, that country’s top law enforcement agency, has launched two major antitrust cases against Google. One challenges the company’s near-total control of online search, while the other targets its dominance in digital advertising. Though these lawsuits focus on the American market, their outcomes could reshape how journalism is discovered, funded and sustained around the world, including here in Canada.
Google may be best known as a search engine, but its influence runs far deeper. It dominates both the digital advertising infrastructure and the global search market, controlling the systems advertisers use to buy space and the platforms that control who sees what online. Critics argue this structure gives Google the power to set the rules for the entire online news economy and take an outsized cut of its profits.
Evidence from court filings and international investigations suggests Google retains 30 to 50 per cent of every ad dollar spent, leaving publishers, especially local and regional outlets in Canada, with a shrinking share. The effect on journalism is direct and measurable: fewer reporters on the ground, shuttered community newspapers and reduced coverage of municipal councils, school boards and rural issues that rarely make national headlines. The public loses access to information that keeps communities informed and governments accountable.
Search dominance compounds the problem. With more than 90 per cent of global search traffic flowing through Google, Canadian news outlets are at the mercy of its algorithms. Changes to how headlines are ranked or how stories are displayed can lead to sudden, sharp declines in readership, without warning or recourse. Smaller outlets, in particular, struggle to compete for visibility. Important stories risk being buried, while attention gravitates to the largest, loudest voices. That’s bad for media diversity and democratic discourse alike.
Canada’s 2023 Online News Act aimed to rebalance the relationship between tech platforms and publishers, requiring companies like Google and Meta to compensate outlets for linking to their content. But enforcement has proven difficult. Meta chose to block news entirely—even during emergencies like wildfires and floods—cutting off communities from vital local information. Google entered limited funding deals only after months of political and public pressure.
Even where agreements have been reached, the money hasn’t flowed evenly. Critics point out that most of the funding is going to large legacy media companies, leaving independent, local and community newsrooms struggling to benefit. For a law intended to sustain diverse journalism across the country, the outcome has reinforced old hierarchies in a new digital form.
The growing use of AI-generated search summaries is creating yet another threat. When readers get instant answers on a search page, often drawn from original journalism, they’re less likely to visit the source site. That means fewer clicks, less ad revenue and a deepening financial crisis for publishers. Worse, it decouples content from context—readers may see the facts, but not who reported them, why they matter or how they fit into a broader story. It undermines both trust and sustainability.
These lawsuits may be playing out in American courtrooms, but the consequences are global. For Canadian journalism, the stakes are clear. Without reform, tech platforms will continue to profit from the work of others while local news collapses. If the U.S. succeeds in reining in Google’s dominance, it could give Canada and other countries a critical opportunity to push for fairer terms and rebuild the broken relationship between journalism and the digital platforms that distribute it.
This isn’t just a story about tech regulation. It’s about protecting the public’s right to be informed, holding power to account and ensuring independent journalism survives in the digital age.
Sidebar
What’s in it for small news outlets?
More ad revenue
If Google loses its grip on ad tech, publishers could keep more of what advertisers spend.
Fairer visibility
Reduced dominance in search could give smaller outlets a better shot at being seen.
Stronger leverage
Canada could renegotiate deals to ensure small, independent voices are included.
But these benefits depend on U.S. court outcomes—and whether Canadian policy-makers step up
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