California is taking matters into its own hands, once again, this time trying to pave the way for local news outlets' survival in the age of Big Tech dominance according to the Press Democrat. Despite the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act on a national level being stalled in Congress, CA is making its move through Assembly Bill 886, also known as the California Journalism Preservation Act. Led by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat, this bill forces Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook to pay a "journalism usage fee" for news content shared on their platforms per the Mercury News.
AB 886 aims to bring fair compensation to news organizations that have been suffering due to big online advertisers. The bill requires that publishers reinvest a significant portion of the journalism usage fee payments back into journalism, ensuring that the provision of news content keeps thriving. California has seen a quarter of its newspapers close since 2004, while the newspaper revenue and staff numbers have substantially decreased nationwide. In an era where the focus is on local community news, the need for California to step up becomes even more significant according to the Press Democrat.
The question of whether this legislation will benefit the right players comes into the picture, because well, confusingly, the analysis done by Chamber of Progress, a tech industry-funded group, shows that a large chunk of the beneficiaries of the proposed bill would actually be alleged national disinformation giants like Fox News, New York Post, and Newsmax as reported by the Sacramento Bee. Although the analysis doesn't show exact earnings for each entity, it's a tricky question whether the bill would truly target the intended news deserts that it should be aiming to serve. However, while critics voice their concerns, it's essential to step back and think of the impact of the bill on the larger scale, within the context of democracy and local reporting.
Local news sources such as newspapers are facing an imminent challenge, and it's no secret that Big Tech's exploitation of their content plays a big role in their decline. Here's where AB 886 comes into action, urging Google and Facebook to share the wealth with local newspapers and broadcasters according to the Mercury News. Critics claim that local news outlets were slow to evolve, and their struggle to adapt to rapid changes exposed them to more risks; yet, what if they can finally thrive and compete again after such a bill gets enforced?
On the other side, Google and Facebook are not staying silent. Matt Schruers, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, whose members include both companies, argues that this legislation would harm the basic architecture of our connected economy. However, supporters of the bill, like University of Utah economics professor Hal Singer, claim that this proposal is modest and could be a step towards a healthy news sector.
