Image: Pixaby

Bard, Google’s artificial intelligence that everyone who tested it said is better than ChatGPT, is still unavailable to Canadians. Of course, if you use a VPN, you can use the service in the US or Brazil, for example. These two countries and several more in Europe already have access to Bard in more than 230 countries and territories and more than 40 languages. But the question is: Why isn’t Bard available in Canada yet?

So many places, and yet Canada remains off this list, as well as China, Russia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan and Cuba.

When we asked Google’s press office why and if it had anything to do with the approval of the Online News Act, the Bill C-18 that received royal assent in June, we received the following response:

“As we continue to develop Bard responsibly, we are expanding access to more countries and regions in multiple languages. We are committed to being good partners as we work through regulatory uncertainty in Canada and are excited to bring Bard’s generative AI potential to Canadians soon.”

But what would such uncertainties be?

The law passed in Canada forces companies like Google and Meta to negotiate compensation agreements with media outlets. According to a publication by CTNews.ca, a Bell Media company, Alphabet and Meta make most of their revenue through advertising, which news media companies have traditionally relied on.

Also, according to the publication, both Meta and Google are working to end the availability of news on their platforms for Canadian users. That’s why it’s hard to see Bard around here.

Recently we have seen heavy campaigning in Brazil by the tech giants against regulatory laws that the Brazilian government was trying to pass. It is not easy to fight against them.

Canada’s Bill C-18 and Bard

Bill C-18 will go into effect six months after approval, i.e. in December. At the end of the year, will Facebook and Google have blocked all Canadian news on their platforms? Let’s follow!