Meta threatens to remove news from Facebook in the US

Picture Courtesy: Forbes

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has threatened to remove news contents from its platform if the new law concerning the fees for content is passed in the US. The law gives news organizations greater power to negotiate fees for content shared on Facebook.

A similar law was passed in Australia last year and that led to a brief suspension of news from Facebook. Meta claims their platform, in fact, provides increased traffic to struggling news outlets. The suspension was lifted after wide-ranging criticism - brokering a deal with the Australian government.

The law known as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) was introduced in Congress by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and has bipartisan support. It would give publishers and broadcasters greater powers to collectively bargain with social media companies for a larger share of ad revenue.

Andy Stone, spokesperson for Meta said in a statement, “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.”

Supporters of the JCPA say social media will become America's "de facto local newspapers" if the act doesn't pass.