CNN —Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, threatened to remove news from its social media sites in California if the state passes a bill requiring big tech companies to pay news outlets for their content. The bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, requires digital companies such as Google and Facebook to pay local news publishers a “journalism usage fee” whenever their news content is used or posted on those platforms. The bill also requires news publishers to invest 70% of usage fee profits into journalism jobs. “This threat from Meta is a scare tactic that they’ve tried to deploy, unsuccessfully, in every country that’s attempted this,” Wicks said in a statement. The bill has garnered praise from some of the largest journalism unions in California, including Media Guild of the West and Pacific Media Workers Guild.

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Persons: Andy Stone, ”, ” Stone, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, ” Wicks, “, Wicks Organizations: CNN, Meta, Facebook, Twitter, Oakland, Google, California State, Media Guild, West and Pacific Media Workers Guild, Free Press Locations: California