Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, has threatened to remove news from its platform if the US Congress passes a proposal aimed at making it easier for news organizations to negotiate en masse with companies like Google and Meta.Sources on the matter said Congress is considering adding the Journalism Competition and Protection Act to its annual defense bill, which must be mandated to help the struggling local news industry.
Meta can ban news
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone strongly opposed the Journalism Competition and Protection Act (JCPA) in a tweet Monday after reports surfaced that Congress was considering adding the law. While underlining that Meta and its platforms already provide traffic to news outlets, Stone stated that “if the law comes into force, they will have to consider removing the news rather than giving in.”By the way, it should be noted that almost all of the most viewed links on Facebook in the third quarter were news articles, which totaled more than 180 million people.
Andy Stone also said, “No company should be forced to pay for content users don’t want to see, and that’s not a meaningful source of income. Simply put, the government creating a cartel-like entity that requires a private company to subsidize other private entities is a dire precedent for all American businesses,” he said.
A similar law was applied in Australia
Australia recently announced that the law, which allows Facebook and Google to pay for news, is working. Under Australian law, technology firms such as Meta and Alphabet have signed more than 30 deals with media outlets. Under the agreements, Meta and Alphabet paid news outlets for these click- and ad-generating content.
Passing such a law in the US could cause a chain reaction. The Journalism Competition and Protection Act, reported as JCPA, has been added to the annual defense bill, but this has yet to be confirmed, according to CNN. However, it is stated that the law will put small, local and independent channels most affected by digital advertising revenues in an even weaker position.
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