CANADA WILL REQUIRE GOOGLE AND META TO PAY MEDIA OUTLETS FOR NEWS UNDER BILL SET TO BECOME LAW

OTTAWA, Ontario—Canada’s Senate on Thursday passed a bill that will require Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content that they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.

The bill, which is set to become law, was passed amid a standoff between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and Silicon Valley tech giants.

Ottawa has said the law creates a level playing field between online advertising giants and the shrinking news industry. And Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has promised to push back on what he describes as “threats” from Facebook and Google to remove journalism from their platforms. Meta confirmed Thursday that it plans to comply with the bill by ending news availability on Facebook and Instagram for its Canadian users, as it had previously suggested. Meta would not offer details about the timeline for that move, but said it will pull local news from its site before the Online News Act takes effect. The bill will come into force six months after it receives royal assent.

“We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, which was passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” said Lisa Laventure, head of communications for Meta in Canada. Legacy media and broadcasters have praised the bill, which promises to “enhance fairness” in the digital news marketplace and help bring in more money for shrinking newsrooms. Tech giants including Meta and Google have been blamed in the past for disrupting and dominating the advertising industry, eclipsing smaller, traditional players. The Online News Act requires both companies to enter into agreements with news publishers to pay them for news content that appears on their sites if it helps the tech giants generate money. AP with its solid build quality and comfortable feel.

It’s the thinnest phone in the C-series, and boasts a C-angle side design that enhances ergonomics, ensuring a pleasant grip during prolonged use.

Whether you’re scrolling through social media or playing games, the phone offers a comfortable and secure hold.

For the display, the 6.74-inch HD+ LCD screen of the realme C53 delivers decent brightness and vivid colors, making your content pop. It comes with a nice 90.7 percent screen-to-body ratio with slim bezels all around. The only giveaway that this is a budget device is that teardrop notch. While an FHD+ resolution would have been a welcomed addition, the HD+ display still offers an enjoyable viewing experience.

What is notable though is that 90Hz refresh rate that ensures smooth scrolling and responsive navigation, enhancing your overall smartphone experience. As for audio, it only has a single speaker setup and despite the Ultraboom Speaker feature which boosts volume up to 150 percent, you’d be better off using connecting your earphones via that 3.5mm headphone jack.

Just like its older brother the C55, the realme C53 flaunts a Mini Capsule. This iPhone-like Dynamic Island feature is located on the selfie-camera cutout and can show the device’s charging status, low battery alerts, step count, and walking distance. It’s a cool feature that has a lot of potential and hopefully realme adds more uses and make it more “dynamic.”

Turning the C53 on its back, that camera module again looks like something from an iPhone, which is a good thing for a device that costs a mere fraction of the latter’s price. Despite those three rings, the phone only has two lenses—a 50MP AI main camera and a 0.8MP black-and-white depth sensor, while third circle houses the LED flash. You also get an 8-megapixel camera for selfies.

Compared to its counterparts, the realme C53 excels at capturing detailed and vibrant photos especially during daytime and with good lighting.

Powered by an octa-core Unisoc T612 processor and accompanied by 6GB of RAM (expandable up to 12GB) plus 128GB storage, the realme C53 delivers solid performance for day-to-day tasks and moderate multitasking. You can also do light gaming on this device. Whether you’re browsing the web, streaming videos, or using productivity apps, the realme C53 offers a smooth and responsive performance.

The realme C53 is a commendable entry-level smartphone that lives up to its “Charge Like a Champion” tagline. With its impressive charging capabilities, stylish design, comfortable ergonomics, vibrant display, solid performance, and intuitive software, it offers excellent value for budget-conscious users. ■