Meta May Cease News Publication on Facebook and Instagram

Meta, the American company behind Facebook and Instagram, has threatened to cease news publication on its platforms if the U.S. Congress passes a bill that expands the publishing options, thereby regulating terms for their placement on online platforms. This was stated by Meta's official communications representative, Andy Stone.

“If Congress approves this ill-conceived journalism bill as part of national security legislation, we will have to consider the possibility of removing news from our platform,” he wrote on Twitter, as reported by RIA Novosti.

Stone noted that the corporation would take this step without negotiating with publishers while simultaneously “unfairly ignoring” the benefits that social networks bring to the press itself.

Meta’s spokesperson stated that the bill would create a “cartel-like equivalence” for publishers and would require private companies to fund other private organizations, which he called “a terrifying precedent for all American business.”

“Publishers and broadcasters choose to provide their content on our platform because it is advantageous for them. No company should be forced to pay for content that users do not want to see...,” he added.

The journalism bill was introduced in March 2021, according to open data from the U.S. Congress portal, but was included in the legislative initiative discussion timeline on November 28, 2022. According to the document's text, it allows for collective negotiations with dominant online platforms regarding conditions for publishing news content.