Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has threatened to remove news content from its platforms if California passes the Journalism Preservation Act. This bill would require tech companies to pay a “journalism usage fee” whenever they run ads next to news posts and require publishers to spend 70% of the revenue on newsroom payroll. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone stated on Twitter that if the bill passes, they will be forced to remove news rather than pay into a “slush fund” that benefits out-of-state media companies. The bill aims to compensate local media outlets for their content, which tech companies use to profit from the digital advertising market. The bill has cleared two committee votes and will be voted on the Assembly on Thursday.
Meta has previously threatened to pull news content from Australia and Canada when similar legislations were proposed. The bill in Australia has been credited with providing an estimated $150 million annually to media outlets. Assembly member Buffy Wicks (D), who authored the bill, responded to Meta’s threat by saying that it’s egregious that a wealthy company would silence journalists instead of facing regulation.
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