Meta Threatens To Remove US News Content From Facebook If New Law Passes

Should authorities pass a new law that gives news organizations more power to negotiate payment for content, Meta could pull all news content from Facebook in the United States. 

Dubbed the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), the regulation was introduced in Congress by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and has since garnered support from both sides of the aisle. 

If this law comes to pass, publishers and broadcasters across the country would be given greater power to collectively negotiate deals with social media platforms to potentially get a greater share of the advertising pie. 

According to the BBC, this isn’t the first time the technology giant has threatened such action, with news on Facebook being briefly suspended in Australia when similar legislation passed last year. 

Instead of paying news sites for the content, Meta argues that its site helps increase traffic to the outlets, and that publishers often publish articles on Facebook as it “benefits their bottom line.” 

Many news organizations don’t agree, citing that Facebook’s parent company continues to generate a large income from the content shared on its network, while local news outlets have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic. 

Will Meta cave to the legislation and come up with a mutually-beneficial deal together with the authorities? Or will it make good on its promise to ban all news from Facebook?

For now, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone remains firm, telling the BBC that the “ill-considered journalism bill” could result in the firm considering “removing news from our platform altogether.” 

[via BBC and FIPP, cover image via Mikhail Primakov | Dreamstime.com]