California Lawmakers Block Bill Forcing Tech Firms to Pay News Outlets, Propose New Partnership Model
California lawmakers expect to veto a bill that would have obliged major digital companies, such as Google and Meta, to compensate news organizations for disseminating their material. The measure will be replaced by a new public-private partnership between the state and Google to fund AI research and local journalism initiatives.
Nearly $250 million would be spent over the next five years on two new programs. According to the Los Angeles Times, one effort is a fund that would distribute millions to California news outlets, and the other is an “AI accelerator” that will assist journalists in discovering new ways to employ technology.
According to The Times, state taxpayers will provide one-fourth of the money, with the remainder coming from Google and maybe other private donors.
“This agreement represents a breakthrough in ensuring the survival of newsrooms and bolstering local journalism across California — leveraging substantial tech industry resources without imposing new taxes on Californians,” Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor, told the Times of Israel. “The deal not only provides funding to support hundreds of new journalists but helps rebuild a robust and dynamic California press corps for years to come, reinforcing the vital role of journalism in our democracy.”
The agreement between California and Google brings to a close a two-year battle between the news and technology industries to rejuvenate local journalism in the face of changes in how people consume news and how advertisers reach out to consumers.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who presented the now-defunct bill, officially known as the California Media Preservation Act, stated that California media is critical to democracy. As advertising revenue declines, resulting in reporter layoffs, many towns frequently lose independent watchdogs.
“The CJPA provides a lifeline for news outlets – large, small, and ethnic – by directing a portion of the ad dollars back to the print, digital, and broadcast media that bear the entire cost of gathering and reporting local news while Big Tech bears none,” Wicks pointed out. “These dominating digital ad businesses are supplementing their platforms with local news content without properly compensating the creators. It’s time they started paying market value for the journalism they were getting for free from local media.” Wicks previously commented.
The discussion over how to solve the problem created friction between the two industries. In April, Google said that it would explore eliminating news website links from search results for some people.
In a new statement, Google praised state authorities for their guidance as journalism and technology executives navigated the problem.
“We appreciate Governor Newsom, Assemblymember Wicks, Chair Umberg, and Senator Glazer’s thoughtful leadership on these issues.” California lawmakers collaborated with the technology and journalism industries to create a framework to advance AI innovation while also supporting local and national businesses and charitable groups. This public-private cooperation builds on our long history of engaging with journalism and the local news ecosystem in our home state, while also establishing a national center of excellence for AI policy.” Kent Walker, Alphabet’s President of Global Affairs, said in a statement.