Meta, formerly known as Facebook, recently threatened to boycott U.S. news on its platform if Congress passes legislation that would give those publications “substantial power” to capture a larger share of the platform’s advertising revenue.
Media companies that support the law claim that Meta makes huge profits from their news articles, while the social media platform has pushed back, saying that Meta drives viewers to news sites.
BBC News has reported on this tussle between the social media giant and news outlets pending the passage of the Journalism Competition and Protection Act (JCPA).
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Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has filed a new bill designed to give news outlets more authority to negotiate ad revenue shares with the platform.
(Associated Press)
The article said: “Meta has threatened to pull news content from Facebook in the US. It is challenging a new law that would give news organizations more power to negotiate payments for content shared on Facebook.”
The bill has yet to be passed by Congress, but BBC News noted that it has bipartisan support. BBC News notes that it was first introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in an effort to “challenge the dominance of Big Tech.”
“This gives publishers and broadcasters greater power to collectively bargain with social media companies for a larger share of advertising revenue,” the publication reported.
Media companies supporting the bill claim that “Meta makes a lot of money from the news distributed on the platform”, many publications, especially local news, “struggled during the pandemic”.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has sponsored a bill aimed at fighting Big Tech’s monopoly.
(Screenshot/ABC)
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Matt Stoller, director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project, claimed the media had been “eaten alive” by Meta and blasted the tech company for opposing the bill. He added, “Meta’s efforts to blackmail Congress prove once again why this monopoly is a threat to democracies around the world.”
In a recent statement, Meta communications director Andy Stone blasted the bill, calling it “ill-conceived” and describing it as government overreach.
He noted, “If Congress passes a poorly thought-out journalism bill as part of national security legislation, it will unfairly ignore any value we provide to our news outlets as a government mandated We will be forced to consider removing the news from our platform without submitting to the negotiations.by increasing traffic and subscription.
He added: “The Journalism Competition and Protection Act fails to recognize a fundamental fact: publishers and broadcasters put their content on our platform because it benefits them – not the other way around.”
A Facebook like sign is seen at the entrance to the company’s campus in Menlo Park, Calif., in this June 11, 2014 photo.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
(AP2014)
Stone said the bill would make Meta “a cartel-like organization where one private company is required to subsidize other private companies.”
A BBC News report notes that in 2021, Meta – when it was still called Facebook – was suspended from news in Australia due to a similar law passed in that country. Furthermore, “The company quickly reversed its decision after widespread criticism – reaching an agreement with the Australian government.”
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.