The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, Nov. 27, edition that the federal government needs to change how it deals with Big Tech over Bill C-18. The Globe's guest columnist Jonah Prousky writes that Australia's News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC) was the inspiration for Canada's C-18. The two measures, however, are different. Australia succeeded because its measures allowed for a compromise. The parties found a modest, imperfect solution, which got its news providers paid. Spain, on the other hand, took a harder line with Big Tech and failed spectacularly. Australia's NMBC stipulates that "designated" digital platforms will be required to pay Australian publications for featuring news links on their platforms. To date, no digital platform has been designated, but that is exactly why the law was hailed as a success. Australia's law allowed for exemptions if the tech giants could come to their own agreements with the media. According to a 2022 report by the Australian Treasury, the law, despite not being applied in a direct way, encouraged Google and Meta to strike at least 30 private agreements with Australian publishers, in which the tech giants forked over a collective $200-million.