California lawmakers on Thursday voted to advance a bill requiring Big Tech firm to pay media outlets for their content — despite a threat by Facebook parent Meta that the legislation would force the company to remove all news from its sites in the Golden State.
The California Journalism Preservation Act would require “online platforms” to fork over a “journalism usage fee” to outlets whose content appears on their sites.
“If the Journalism Preservation Act passes, we will be forced to remove news from Facebook and Instagram rather than pay into a slush fund that primarily benefits big, out-of-state media companies under the guise of aiding California publishers,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said late Wednesday ahead of the vote.
“It is disappointing that California lawmakers appear to be prioritizing the best interests of national and international media companies over their own constituents,” Stone added.
Meta’s saber-rattling fell on deaf ears on the state’s Assembly members, who easily pushed through the bill with bipartisan support in a 46-6 vote. The legislation advances to the state Senate. Lawmakers have until Sept. 14 to enact the bill before the current session ends.
The proposed usage fee would be based on ad revenue. Outlets would be required to use at least 70% of the proceeds to support their newsrooms.
Stone later told the Wall Street Journal that Meta’s action, if pursued, would mean that users on Facebook and Instagram would be unable to read or share articles on either platform.
It was the first time billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s company had addressed California’s initiative, but Meta has made previous warnings to other countries considering similar measures.
The bill’s sponsor, California Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, blasted Meta over the “scare tactic.”
“This threat from Meta is a scare tactic that they’ve tried to deploy, unsuccessfully, in every country that’s attempted this,” Wicks tweeted before the vote. “It is egregious that one of the wealthiest companies in the world would rather silence journalists than face regulation.”
The social media giant has been under mounting pressure since 2021, when Australia enacted a law requiring tech firms to reach content deals with publishers.
Meta staunchly opposed the Australia law and briefly blocked Facebook news content in the country, but relented after talks with lawmakers.
Earlier this month, executives from Meta and Big Tech rival Google said they would pull news content in Canada if the country passed proposed legislation requiring payments to publishers.
Meta delivered a similar warning last December following reports that Congress was mulling similar legislation.
The federal measure, which would limit the size of publishers eligible to negotiate content deals, is still under consideration.
With Post wires
For all the latest Business News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
