According to CNBC, the goal of this bill is online platforms with at least 50 million regular users in the US each month, 1 billion regular users around the world, or a market capitalization in the world. $550 billion. Specifically, these platforms will have to share in the advertising revenue generated from the aforementioned news content.
The specific amount will be determined through an arbitration process. The bill also requires that at least 70% of this shared ad revenue be used to pay reporters.
Buffy Wicks (left) rejoices after her bill was passed in the California House of Representatives - USA on June 1. Photo: THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Congresswoman Buffy Wicks, who authored a bill called the California Press Preservation Act (CJPA), said the money received from tech giants would help local media companies "live" missing” as many of these companies see advertising revenue decline in the digital age. According to Wicks, more than 100 media companies in the state of California have closed in the past decade.
CJPA currently has the backing of a number of major trade associations in the media industry, such as the News and Media Alliance (representing more than 2.000 media companies). Danielle Coffey, President of the News-Media Alliance, expressed hope that the bill will soon become law to help restore fairness and balance to the market.
On June 1, the California Federation of Labor made a similar move, saying the bill would help level the playing field between news publishers and social media websites.
The CJPA needs to pass the state Senate and be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom to become law. According to CNBC, such an outcome would cause additional headaches for major technology platforms after facing similar pressure in many other places.
The CJPA, for example, is similar in purpose to a bill called the Press Conservation and Competition Act (JCPA), which was sought by a group of congressmen in Congress last year.
A day before the vote in the California House of Representatives, Meta (the parent company of social networks Facebook and Instagram) threatened to pull all news content from its platforms if the bill became law.
The company sent similar warnings to the US Congress in 2022 and the Canadian government this year. Ms. Wicks denied the threat, pointing out that companies like Meta have raked in billions of dollars while a host of media companies are shuttering their doors across California.
