In the past few years, the mainstream news media’s advertising-based business model has imploded. At the same time, online dis- and misinformation have exploded. Under Justin Trudeau, the Liberals sought to address both problems with legislation with the goal of regulating content online. That included Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which aimed to get tech platforms to pay Canadian media companies for sharing news links, and Bill C-11, which required streaming platforms like Netflix and Spotify to contribute to a Canadian content fund.

Bill C-18 has been partially successful: it led to an arrangement where Google pays into an annual $100-million fund intended to support Canadian news. But it’s also........

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