Facebook wants to remove news from new US media law

Facebook parent Meta Platforms is threatening to remove all messages on the platform if a controversial US media law is passed. The company would be forced to potentially scrap all news if the law went into effect, “rather than submitting to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly ignore any value we are providing to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions,” he said Meta spokesperson Andy Stone on Monday. The draft law does not recognize that publishers and broadcasters put content on the platform “because they benefit from it – and not the other way around”. The so-called Journalism Competition and Preservation Act is to be launched with the annual defense budget to protect primarily local journalism, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Tech companies should pay for media content
Accordingly, the large technology groups should pay for media content that brings users and advertising revenue to their platforms. The News Media Alliance, which represents newspaper publishers, argues that “local newspapers cannot afford to endure the use and abuse of big tech for several more years.” Time is running out. “If Congress doesn’t act soon, we risk social media becoming America’s de facto local newspaper.” More than two dozen industry representatives, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Public Knowledge and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, are opposing the law. It creates antitrust exceptions for publishers and broadcasters.

Australia pioneer
A similar law came into force in Australia in March 2021, which a government report says is largely having the desired effect. Various tech companies, including Meta and Google parent Alphabet, have signed more than 30 deals with media companies, paying them for content that generates clicks and advertising revenue.