![]() The Link Tax isn’t an original idea – it’s already been adopted in a handful of countries in Europe (where OpenMedia fought hard against the proposal), and is currently being introduced in a slightly different format in Australia. Why are we talking about the Link Tax right now? If Canada adopts the Link Tax, we’ll be creating an Internet with less quality Canadian journalism, and more space for misinformation to spread. The plan is an attempt to try and provide funding to news media - and that’s an important cause! But unfortunately, the Link Tax catastrophically misunderstands how the Internet works. (Those snippets tell us a lot more about if we want to click on something than a very long URL!). Platforms would have to pay copyright fees for displaying these pieces of content, even though they’re there to help us – the users – navigate the Internet more seamlessly. The tax would work by applying copyright to the previews (or snippets) that are displayed when a link shows up in your news feed, or search results. “Make big tech pay” appeals to many people, but this particular proposal fundamentally breaks the Internet works for us, undermining both the way that hyperlinks are used online, and the way we value and share quality content. The Link Tax is a dangerous proposal that would require platforms (like Facebook or Google) pay news outlets every time they display a link to a news article – including when those links are shared directly by their users.
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