Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has issued a threat to remove news content from its platforms in California if the state passes a bill that would require tech giants to pay news outlets for their content.
Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director, took to Twitter to express his concerns about California’s Journalism Preservation Act, referring to it as “a slush fund that primarily benefits big, out-of-state media companies under the guise of aiding California publishers.”
Stone further argued that the bill fails to acknowledge that publishers and broadcasters willingly share their content on Meta’s platforms. He also pointed out that the consolidation of California’s local news industry occurred over 15 years ago, predating the widespread use of Facebook.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, is the sponsor of the bill, which proposes that digital companies like Google and Facebook pay local news publishers a “journalism usage fee” whenever their news content is utilized or posted on these platforms. The bill additionally stipulates that news publishers must invest 70% of the profits from these fees into journalism jobs.
Wicks dismissed Meta’s threat as a scare tactic, noting that the company has made similar attempts in other countries where similar regulations were proposed. Wicks criticized Meta, stating, “It’s egregious that one of the wealthiest companies in the world would rather silence journalists than face regulation.”
A spokesperson for Wicks revealed that the bill is scheduled for a vote in the California State Assembly on Thursday.
While the bill has received support from major journalism unions in California, including the Media Guild of the West and the Pacific Media Workers Guild, it has also faced criticism. Free Press Action, a non-profit media advocacy organization, has condemned the bill, arguing that it does not effectively support trustworthy local reporting and instead benefits large conglomerates.
It remains to be seen how the vote on the bill will unfold and what the potential implications might be for the relationship between tech companies and news publishers in California.
