We have a choice. We are not forced to do business with Google, Meta, Twitter or Apple. We choose to put our content on those platforms because the discoverability funnel and the megaphone that those companies represent are much more powerful and supportive than our own.
Today, Le Devoir has more subscribers to its digital version than to its paper version. Every day, we receive statistics on visits by both casual users and subscribers. The primary gateway they use is keyword searches on Google. The second is sharing on social networks. Direct connection, where people type "ledevoir.com", comes in third, but far behind the other two. So no, we cannot do without the digital platforms.
Other witnesses have explained this very well: the issue is the redistribution of the value created in that relationship. These are complementary relationships and they are partners, but the relationship is necessarily unequal, since 80% of advertising revenue is in the hands of two companies.