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Meta could pull news content if a new bill passes

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Facebook owner Meta has threatened to pull news outlets from its platform if Congress passes a new law meaning it has to pay for content.

The legislation is called the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and requires tech companies to pay publishers and broadcasters for their content.

If passed, it will let news outlets bargain collectively with social media sites about the terms on which their content appears on their platforms.

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Meta said it would remove news from its platforms than rather than “submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard the value we provide to news outlets.” 

A company spokesman Andy Stone argues their platform, in fact, provides “increased traffic and subscriptions” to struggling news media.

The California-based multinational tech giant has previously taken similar stances.

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Last year, it briefly pulled news from its platform in Australia.

It was after the country enacted legislation requiring tech firms to pay publishers for utilizing their news articles.

It later made deals with Australian publishers.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota is the current bill’s sponsor.

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She said the legislation simply allows news companies to join together to negotiate better prices for their news content with “the biggest companies the world has ever known.

“In one quarter Google made $66 billion in ad revenue while newspapers and little radio stations folded left and right.

“We’re just simply trying to get a fair price for content.”

Meta is currently valued at $562.19 Billion, making it the sixth-richest business in the world.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

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