Canada Excluded from Google’s AI Chatbot Bard due to Online News Act

Canada, unlike most countries, lacks access to Google’s AI chatbot, Bard, due to the ongoing clash between Google and Canada’s Liberal government over the Online News Act.

Bard, Google’s equivalent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has been recently extended to 230 countries; however, Canada, along with North Korea and Russia, has been noticeably omitted. Meanwhile, despite earlier postponing its launch in the EU over privacy worries, Bard is now available in all EU nations.

Google’s conflict with the Canadian authorities primarily revolves around the Online News Act, which, come November, would mandate tech giants such as Google and Meta to share revenues with Canadian news publishers for the content they leverage. Both companies have criticized the act as unfeasible and have started blocking news on their platforms in Canada, thereby avoiding the legislation’s implications.

In response to these concerns, the Liberal government has issued more explicit details on the bill’s implementation, suggesting a financial threshold for contributions correlated to the platforms’ estimated Canadian revenues. However, Meta is still adamant about withdrawing news from Facebook and Instagram once the law is enacted, while Google— still expressing concern about the government’s new proposal, seems more willing to negotiate.

The government’s regulation standoff is also impacting AI chatbot technology. According to Daniel Tsai, a lawyer and instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University, these ChatGPT-style AIs require access to legitimate news sources for credibility and reliability of their content. “They really do need access to legitimate news to be taken credibly, and for the reliability and authenticity and the truthfulness of content,” he told the National Post.


Information for this briefing was found via the sources mentioned within the article. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.

Leave a Reply

Video Articles

Endeavour Mining Q1 Earnings: Cash Flow Is King

G Mining Oko West Feasibility: Move Fast, Break.. Nothing?

New Gold Q1 Earnings: What’s Behind The Market’s Surprising Reaction?

Recommended

Giant Mining Encounters Native Copper As Hole MHB-34 Hits 563 Metres Depth

Verses Hits Commercialization Stage With Genius AI Platform

Related News

Meta Officially Halts News Sharing in Canada in Response to Online News Act

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has decided to discontinue the sharing of...

Tuesday, August 1, 2023, 02:27:45 PM

Google Takes Stand against Canadian News Bill, Vows to Remove Local News Content from Platforms

Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has announced that it will remove Canadian news content from its platforms...

Thursday, June 29, 2023, 02:36:54 PM

Should Canadian Media Orgs Blame Meta For Following Online News Act And Blocking News Access?

In what could be considered a circus-like finger pointing, a coalition comprised of broadcasters and...

Wednesday, August 9, 2023, 01:31:00 PM

Google Readies To Block Canadian News Content Under Bill C-18

Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google is on the brink of barring Canadians from accessing news...

Sunday, October 8, 2023, 11:46:00 AM

Publishers Begin Pushing RSS to Maintain Readership in Canada As Google, Meta Push Back Against Bill C-18

In the midst of a standoff over Canada’s newly passed bill C-18 that mandates compensation...

Friday, August 11, 2023, 12:25:00 PM