Facebook parent Meta threatens to remove news from platform if it follows Australia's lead
Facebook parent Meta says it will be “forced to consider” removing news content from its platform if US Congress passes legislation requiring tech companies to pay news outlets for their material.
The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, if passed, would allow news companies to collectively negotiate with social platforms over the terms on which their material appears on their sites.
It follows a similar move here in Australia last year, where the federal government proposed legislation that would compel tech companies to pay publishers for using their news stories.
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Facebook is threatening to pull news from its platform if the US Congress follows Australia's lead with legislation forcing it to pay publishers for content. AP
In response, Meta briefly blocked news on its platform in Australia.
However, the social media giant later struck deals with Australian publishers, including the owner of this website, Nine, to pay them for their news content.
The laws were passed in Australia in February last year.
Regarding the situation in the US, Meta said it would rather pull news from its platforms than “submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard the value we provide to news outlets”.
The value, Meta said in a statement tweeted by spokesman Andy Stone, includes “increased traffic and subscriptions".
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