
Motion introduced by St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle
Several top Google executives, including the CEO, have been summoned to appear before a parliamentary committee after the company began testing ways to block news content from searches.
Google says a short-lived test is being conducted to limit access to news on its search engine, in the event the Liberals pass the Online News Act.
If passed, Bill C-18 would require digital giants like Google to compensate Canadian media companies for linking or repurposing their online content.
Google says the test impacts less than four percent of Canadian users.
On Monday, the group will appear before the House of Commons heritage committee.
``It's troubling that Google was doing this in secret, but was caught by the press,'' Liberal MP Chris Bittle said to the committee.
The motion to summon the executives, which was brought forth by the St. Catharines MP, received unanimous support from opposition MPs.