“We have not reached a final decision as to what business actions we might have to take” if the legislation passes, Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer, said at a meeting of the House of Commons heritage committee Thursday. The bill would require tech firms to make payments to publishers whose content is linked from their platforms. (The Logic)

Talking point: In late February, Google stopped putting news links in the search results of about four per cent of Canadian browsers. At the hearing Thursday, Walker described it as a “product test … to assess the potential impacts of the legislation.” It’s what got the executives hauled in front of the committee. Google would be willing to pay into an independently governed fund that would subsidize news outlets, Walker said, likening it to the existing qualified Canadian journalism organization (QCJO) system for tax credit eligibility. (The Logic is a QCJO.)