(FamilyConservationPAC.com) – Meta Platforms Inc (Facebook) said on Monday that it would remove all news content from its U.S. platforms if Congress passed a law giving publications more clout to negotiate compensation.
This would be a significant blow for journalism outlets coping with a challenging media market.
According to sources, lawmakers are considering including the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) in a defense measure that must be passed annually to support the ailing local journalism sector.
Meta representative Andy Stone stated in a tweet that if the law was implemented, the firm would have to decide between eliminating news and complying with government-mandated talks.
Meta statement on the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act: pic.twitter.com/kyFqKQw7xs
— Andy Stone (@andymstone) December 5, 2022
He said the law unfairly discounts the value we offer to news publishers through increased traffic and subscriptions.
He continued, “The plan ignores that material is uploaded to the platform by publishers and broadcasters to boost their bottom lines, not the other way around.”
The News Media Alliance, a trade association for newspaper publishers, pleads with Congress to include the measure in the defense bill.
The association says,
“Local papers are running out of time to act before they are forced to bear several more years of Big Tech’s misuse and exploitation. We run the risk of letting social media replace traditional local newspapers in America if Congress does not act quickly.”
Opposition To Passing JCPA Bill
Numerous organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Public Knowledge, and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, urged Congress not to pass the local news bill on Monday.
They claim it would “create an ill-advised antitrust exemption for publishers and broadcasters.” They added that it does not mandate that “funds gained through negotiation or arbitration will even be paid to journalists.”
According to a government study, a comparable Australian rule, which went into force in March 2021 after negotiations with major tech companies, resulted in a temporary shutdown of Facebook news feeds nationwide.
Numerous tech companies, including Meta and Alphabet, have made more than 30 agreements with media sites since the News Media Bargaining Code came into effect.
“They paid for materials that brought in clicks and ad revenue,” the report continued.
Should social media platforms compensate journalists and news organizations for creating content on their platforms?
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