Meta Threatens To Halt All News In California if ‘Journalism Usage Fee’ Passes

Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, threatened to remove all news content in California on Wednesday should a bill imposing “journalism usage fees” pass.

The focal point of Meta’s concern is Assembly Bill 886 by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), which would specifically have digital advertising companies, such as Google or Facebook, pay for content they use from media outlets. The bill, also known as the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), would pay a “journalism usage fee” to media outlet owners each time local news articles are used by the companies that also sell advertising along with it. Publishers would receive the funds and would then need to invest at least 70% back into funding journalism jobs, such as paying journalists or creating new journalism positions. ---More...

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