Meta may remove news from FB if US Congress passes media bill

WASHINGTON: Facebook parent Meta on Monday threatened to remove news from its platform if the US Congress passes a proposal aimed at making it easier for news organisations to negotiate collectively with firms like Alphabet’s Google and Facebook. Sources said lawmakers are considering adding the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act to a must-pass annual defence bill to help the struggling local news industry.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stonesaid the firm would be forced to consider removing news if the law was passed “rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions. ” He added the proposal fails to recognise that publishers and broadcasters put content on Facebook because “it benefits their bottom line — not the other way around”. The News Media Alliance, a trade group representing newspaper publishers, is urging Congress to add the bill to the defence bill, arguing that “local papers can’t afford to endure more years of Big Tech’s sabuse. If Congress does not act soon, we risk allowing social media to become America’s de facto local newspaper”.
Over two dozen groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, Public Knowledge and the Computer & Communications Industry Association on Monday urged Congress not to approve the local news bill saying it would “create a antitrust exemption for publishers and broadcasters” and argued the bill doesn’t require “funds gained through negotiation or arbitration will be paid to journalists”.