California lawmakers want Google and Facebook to pay publishers for news content – the most recent manifestation of public dissatisfaction with the growing power of the tech giants.
Buffy Wicks, a state attorney representing Oakland, introduced a bill that will require tech firms that make the most of news content to pay media “journalism usage fees” after they sell ads.
The proposed rules would also require content publishers to invest 70% of their fee income in journalistic work.
“Big Tech has develop into the de facto gatekeeper of journalism and is using its dominance to set rules for displaying, prioritizing and monetizing news content,” Emily Charrier, who chairs the California News Publishers Association, told the Los Angeles Times.
“Our members are the source of this journalism and deserve to be paid fairly for the news they produce.”
The post sought comment from Google and Facebook’s parent company, Meta.
In December, Meta threatened to remove news content from its platform entirely if Congress approved an analogous measure that will require tech firms to pay news outlets for his or her content.
The Competition and Protection of Journalism Act, if passed, will allow news firms to jointly negotiate with social media platforms the conditions under which their material appears on their sites.
![Meta has threatened to remove content from Facebook if legislation is passed that will force Facebook to pay for messages.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000002172971.jpg?w=1024)
Meta said it might fairly download news from its platforms than “submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard the worth we offer to news outlets.”
The worth, Meta said in a press release tweeted by spokesman Andy Stone, includes “increased traffic and subscriptions.”
In July, Meta informed news outlets that it might not pay them for content displayed within the News tab.
The move was a part of an overall shift in strategy, with Facebook shifting its focus from messaging in favor of more creative initiatives.
In February 2021, Meta signed deals with three Australian news publishers only a day after the country’s parliament passed a bill requiring digital firms to pay for news.
The move got here after Meta briefly blocked Australian news outlets on Facebook in protest of the laws.
Last April, Canada said it might consider a bill to force tech firms to pay local news publishers for content.
Meta earlier this month promised to block all news content to its Canadian users if lawmakers in Ottawa pass the “Online News Act” in its current form.
![Google has been the subject of antitrust litigation due to its dominance in digital advertising.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008261075.jpg?w=1024)
“A legal framework that forces us to pay for links or content that we don’t publish and that isn’t the explanation the overwhelming majority of individuals use our platforms is neither sustainable nor enforceable” a Meta spokesman told Reuters when asked concerning the threat to the corporate.
Last yr, Google’s parent company Alphabet signed deals with 300 publishers across Europe that will see the tech giant pay news outlets to display snippets of reporters’ work in search results.
![Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has moved away from the emphasis on news.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000002129851.jpg?w=1024)
In 2021, Google signed deals with around 120 UK publications as a part of a plan to pay news sites for content.
In January, the Biden administration and eight states filed a lawsuit in search of to force Google to sell its ad management suite, claiming the corporate had smothered competition.
The case is certainly one of two Justice Department antitrust actions against Google.
![Google CEO Sundar Pichai is pictured above.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000004298464-1.jpg?w=1024)
The U.S. justice of the peace overseeing the case ruled last week on an expedited timetable for the lawsuit.
The second, filed in October 2020 and difficult Google Search, is due to be heard in a federal court in Washington in September.
Google rejected the claims in each cases.