on Monday released a statement in which it said that it would 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.” Other tech groups also oppose the legislation., did not include the legislation.
Reintroduced in August, the journalism bill was designed to address the decline of local news outlets, whether print or broadcast stations. It included limits on the size of news outlets that can collectively negotiate, prohibiting news outlets with more than 1,500 full-time employees. It would have required so-called “gatekeeper platforms” — i.e., Google and Facebook — to negotiate in “good faith” with the news organizations. The platforms are defined as those with at least 50 million U.S.
Facebook argued that the government would be creating a “cartel-like entity which requires one private company to subsidize other private entities” that would be a “terrible precedent for all American businesses.”