Assemblymember Buffy Wicks played a key role in negotiating a deal between media outlets and tech companies. She speaks during a committee hearing in the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on Aug. 15, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMattersState lawmakers give up on bills to force tech companies to pay media outlets for using news. Instead, they agree with Google on a program to help local newsrooms and to explore artificial intelligence.
Publishers who initially pushed for the proposal forcing Google to pay them said the deal was still a win. To try to keep their readers, publications increasingly rely on social media and online search. Google controls the lion’s share of search in a way the U.S. Justice Department and one federal judge have said
Another factor: Some proponents said it was unlikely Gov. Gavin Newsom, who pledged no tax increases this year, would sign Wicks’ bill, which could be seen as a tax on tech companies. Newsom in a press release today praised the deal, though his spokesperson Alex Stack on Tuesday denied the governor was involved or had taken a position on the bill.
“Google won, a monopoly won,” said Matt Pearce, the group’s president. “This is dramatically worse than what Australia and Canada got … I don’t know of any journalist that asked for this.”