{"id":21533,"date":"2022-12-07T01:42:36","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T01:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/07\/meta-would-rather-remove-news-than-pay-publishers\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T01:42:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T01:42:36","slug":"meta-would-rather-remove-news-than-pay-publishers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/07\/meta-would-rather-remove-news-than-pay-publishers\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta Would Rather Remove News Than Pay Publishers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Meta says it will consider removing news articles from its platform if a US government mandate forces the company to compensate publishers.<\/p>\n

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act<\/a> (JCPA) enables news outlets to collectively negotiate revenue-sharing deals with social media platforms and search engines.<\/p>\n

The JCPA is designed to benefit US news outlets because deals apply across the board to all local and national publishers.<\/p>\n

News outlets can negotiate with companies individually under the current system. However, one-to-one negotiations only give publishers so much leverage.<\/p>\n

If the JCPA passes, it will allow the entire industry to negotiate, giving publishers more leverage over companies like Meta and Google.<\/p>\n

Meta isn\u2019t interested in negotiating with publishers because the company believes traffic and exposure are payment enough.<\/p>\n

Andy Stone, Meta\u2019s policy communications director, published a statement<\/a> on Twitter threatening to remove news content in the United States if the JCPA passes:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf 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 rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Meta\u2019s argument continues with a statement that roughly translates to: \u2018They need us more than we need them:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Journalism Competition and Preservation Act fails to recognize the key fact: publishers and broadcasters put their content on our platform themselves because it benefits their bottom line \u2013 not the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Meta concludes its statement by equating the government\u2019s plan with the creation of a \u2018cartel-like entity\u2019:<\/p>\n

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\u201cNo company should be forced to pay for content users don\u2019t want to see and that\u2019s not a meaningful source of revenue. Put simply: the government creating a cartel-like entity which requires one private company to subsidize other private entities is a terrible precedent for all American businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The bipartisan JCPA is yet to pass through the Senate, though it advanced through the Judiciary Committee<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

Antitrust experts believe Meta will not follow through on its threats to withhold US news from its platforms, citing its failure to do so in Australia and Canada:<\/p>\n

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Bluffing. This is where I remind everyone Facebook spent 9 months plotting to cause chaos in Australia before retreating and then threatened Canada, too. And they\u2019ve done this under a misleading narrative to protect profits and disregard public. Google took opposite approach. 1\/3 https:\/\/t.co\/1iJqDa0RMB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jason Kint (@jason_kint) December 5, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If the JCPA passes and Meta lives up to its word, it could be a blow to US news publishers.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, news content hasn\u2019t been a priority for Meta for years. Publishers have been losing referral traffic since 2016<\/a>\u00a0when Facebook started prioritizing posts from friends and family over pages.<\/p>\n

Meta showed renewed interest in news with the introduction of the Facebook News tab, which was put on the back burner earlier this year.<\/p>\n

As Meta plans<\/a> to transition to a video-first platform, who knows how much visibility news publishers will receive in the future.<\/p>\n

According to a Pew Research<\/a> study, Facebook is currently the leader in social media platforms where Americans regularly get news. However, the same research shows news consumption is gradually shifting to YouTube and Twitter.<\/p>\n

If it comes down to it, can US news publishers survive without Meta? Considering the company\u2019s recent downturn<\/a>, it\u2019s fair to say Meta doesn\u2019t have the same power over publishers that it used to.<\/p>\n\n

Featured Image: pnm-stock\/Shutterstock<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n