The Salvaged Bill C–18 Is a Compromise That Sucks for Everyone ⇥ michaelgeist.ca

Michael Geist, responding to the news that Google and the Canadian government have struck a deal for the Online News Act:

I’ve been asked several times today if the Canadian approach will be a model for other countries. While I suspect that many may be tempted by the prospect of new money for media, the Canadian experience will more likely be a cautionary tale of how government and industry ignored the obvious risks of its legislative approach and was ultimately left desperate for a deal to salvage something for a sector that is enormously important to a free and open democracy.

For how critical journalism is, it is myopic to keep pushing its business model from one unsustainable option to another. At least Canadian publications will not be losing Google referral traffic, but this seems like a bad compromise for everyone.