FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Arlington, VA – Today the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA, AB 886) successfully passed out of the California Senate Judiciary Committee with a vote of 9-2. The bill, which was introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) in March 2023, would require Big Tech platforms to pay news publishers and broadcasters for their use of journalism. Currently, creators of journalistic and creative content are not adequately compensated by the platforms for the use of their work that takes a tremendous investment to produce.
The CJPA would promote the hiring of more journalists, requiring news publishers to invest 70 percent of the payments received under the legislation into journalism jobs.
Prior to the vote, the bill had been amended to allocate payouts to publishers based on the number of journalists employed, rather than impressions presented to Californians. This mimics the Canadian Online News Act, which has been successful in requiring Google to compensate publishers. In addition, the bill was amended to steer funds to California, and to provide additional flexibility for ethnic media and other small publishers.
The bill is now expected to be referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
News/Media Alliance President & CEO Danielle Coffey stated, “We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Tom Umberg, and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks for standing up to preserve quality journalism, both in California and the broader United States, by advancing the California Journalism & Preservation Act (CJPA). Now more than ever, we need accurate and reliable news and information from trusted sources to keep our communities informed and engaged. For too long, Big Tech has reaped windfall profits at the expense of the local publications that go into our communities and hold government and other institutions to account. We look forward to publishers in California finally getting the compensation they need and deserve to be able to continue their critically important work.”
Several countries around the world have passed similar legislation in the last few years, demonstrating the growing global recognition of the importance of quality journalism and the need for fair compensation from the tech platforms. Indonesia, Canada, Europe and Australia have all passed laws requiring the tech platforms to compensate news publishers, with legislation introduced in other countries around the world, including the UK and the United States.
In Australia, their News Media Bargaining Code has led to deals with publishers, including small outlets, worth more than the equivalent of $140 million in revenue and has resulted in the creation of journalism jobs, while in Canada, Google agreed to pay C$100 million per year for their use of Canadian news, under the Online News Act.
In the U.S., the federal Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA, S. 1094), introduced by Senate Antitrust Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA), would allow digital journalism providers to collectively negotiate with Meta and Google for fair compensation for the use of their valuable content. The bill has strong bipartisan support and passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a favorable vote in June 2023.
Coffey added, “Google has agreed to terms with and is paying publishers in other countries, and now California has taken another significant step toward doing the same. There is no stopping this forward motion and Congress must follow these leads and act now to ensure a future for journalism in our country.”
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Media contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org
The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,200 news, magazine, and digital media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
