How long will Google's $100 million news payout survive?

Days before the search giant is required to hand over $100 million to fund journalism, Canadian regulators are demanding billions more in damages...

In 18 days, Google is required under law to fork over $100 million (US$74 million) in cash to hundreds of Canadian publishers and broadcasters.

Google grudgingly settled on the sum to swerve Canada’s The Online News Act which intended to set a legal precedent to force it and Meta to pay for the news it used.

Google negotiated a different deal. It would pay $100 million, and the law it hated would be sidelined.

That payout is now backed by regulators and meant to last in perpetuity, but it already faces headwinds as Canada’s political landscape veers to the Right.

Under the terms, Google also got to choose who distributes the cash, and it picked entrepreneur Erin Millar, the CEO of Canadian publishing start-up Indiegraf.

She and her team created the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) to do the job. It was controversial as it was selected ahead of a broader industry collective.

I met Erin in Canada while I was on a speaking tour there. The future of Canadian publishing is now in her hands.