Meta threatens to remove all news from Facebook if bill passes Congress
‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-host Will Cain responds to Meta threatening to remove news content from its platforms if Congress passes a bill allowing news organizations to bargain for compensation.
Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, recently threatened to boycott U.S. news outlets on its platform if Congress passes a law giving said outlets "greater power" to acquire a larger share of the platform’s ad revenue.
Media companies in favor of the law claim that Meta generates massive income from their news articles, while the social media platform pushed back by saying that Meta drives viewership to news sites.
BBC News reported on this brewing feud between the social media giant and news outlets, pending the passage of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA).
Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, formerly known as Facebook, bashed a new bill designed to grant news outlets more power to negotiate their share of ad revenue with the platform. (Associated Press)
The piece opened, stating, "Meta has threatened to remove news content from Facebook in the US. It objects to a new law that would give news organizations greater power to negotiate fees for content shared on Facebook."
The bill has yet to be enacted by Congress, however BBC News indicated that it has bipartisan support. It was first introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., with the intention of "tackling the dominance of Big Tech," BBC News claimed.
As the outlet reported, "It would give publishers and broadcasters greater powers to collectively bargain with social media companies for a larger share of ad revenue."
Media companies that support the bill claim that "Meta generates huge sums of money from news articles shared on the platform," while many outlets, especially local news, have "struggled during the pandemic."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., sponsored the bill aimed at tackling the Big Tech monopoly. (Screenshot/ABC)
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American Economic Liberties Project research director Matt Stoller claimed that media outlets have been "eaten alive" by Meta, and slammed the tech company for coming out against the bill. He added, "Meta's efforts to blackmail Congress prove again why this monopoly is a threat to democracies worldwide."
In a recent statement, Meta communications director Andy Stone blasted the bill, calling it "ill-considered," and characterizing it as government overreach.
He stated, "If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation, we will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscription."
He added, "The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act fails to recognize the key fact: publishers and broadcasters put their content on our platform themselves because it benefits their bottom line — not the other way around."
This June 11, 2014, photo shows Facebook's "like" symbol at the entrance to the company's campus in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (AP2014)
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Stone claimed that the bill would be turning Meta into a "cartel-like entity which requires one private company to subsidize other private companies."
The BBC News report noted that in 2021, Meta – back when it was still called Facebook – suspended Australian news outlets because of a similar law passed in that country. It added, "The company quickly reversed the decision after wide-ranging criticism - brokering a deal with the Australian government."
Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
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