The California Legislature Google demanded payment from news organizations The state government banned the content and instead announced a new public-private partnership between the state and tech giants to fund artificial intelligence research and programs to strengthen local journalism.
The plan calls for spending about $250 million over the next five years, a quarter of it coming from state taxpayers and three-quarters from Google and likely other private donors. The money would go toward two new initiatives administered by UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism: a fund to distribute millions of dollars to California news organizations, and an “AI accelerator” to develop ways for journalists to use powerful technology.
The agreement marks the culmination of a two-year battle between the news and technology industries over how to revive local journalism amid major shifts in how people consume news and how advertisers reach them.
Wicks and other advocates argued that supporting journalism in California is essential to preserving democracy because local news outlets play a vital role in informing the public about their government, even as declining advertising revenues have led many media companies to lay off journalists or close publications altogether. No independent oversight in some communities Provided by local news outlets.
But the debate over how to resolve the issue has divided the news industry, with traditional publishers backing bills that digital news outlets don't support, and unions representing reporters opposing a negotiated compromise. Politicians have been caught between a fractured journalism community and a powerful technology sector that is a major contributor to California's economy.
As part of the agreement, the state will put $30 million from its budget next year into the fund and contribute $10 million each year for the next four years. Google will put $15 million into the fund and pay another $15 million to support other journalism efforts, including an AI accelerator and direct donations to digital news media. A new nonprofit with a board of directors made up of representatives from across California's industries will be created to manage the UC Berkeley program.
The agreement is supported by several professional associations representing publishers and news organizations, but not by the unions representing journalists.
Matt Pierce, president of the Western Media Union, recently criticized the plan in an email to members, saying it “completely undermines the state's attempt to stop Google from strangling our news organizations.”
The union had lobbied to include provisions requiring media companies receiving the funding to have non-expiring collective bargaining agreements and for Google to contribute more than its original target amount. Pays $74 million a year To the Canadian newsroom.
As part of the agreement, Rep. Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) agreed to shelve a bill she has championed for the past two years.
Assembly Bill 886 Also known as the California Protect Journalism Act, the bill aimed to ease economic hardships that have hit the news industry as Google and Meta have come to dominate digital advertising and technology has fundamentally changed how people consume news. The bill, proposed by the California News Publishers Association, which includes the Los Angeles Times, has sparked a fierce battle between news organizations and big tech companies.
Publishers argue that online search and social media platforms unfairly gobble up advertising revenue while featuring content they don't pay for. The bill would require Google to pay into a fund that would distribute millions of dollars to California news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ. The amount of the payment is not specified in the bill, but lawmakers said it would help the publishers. Hoping that Google and the news industry can negotiate agreement.
but Google claimed In testimony before Congress earlier this summer, he said the bill would “destroy fundamental and foundational principles of the open internet and force platforms to pay publishers who send them valuable free traffic.”
Google threatened to remove California news content from its platform if the bill passed, then Advertisement He said the bill would limit Californians' access to news.
Lobbying over the bill intensified, and industry groups that include Google launched an ad campaign aimed at lawmakers who saw the bill as a giveaway to big media companies. Records show the Computer and Communications Industry Association spent $5 million on advertising against AB 886 in the two years it took for the bill to pass the General Assembly.
The latest version of the bill It is modeled after a similar law in Canada.Google Pays $74 million a year The California bill would have been the first in the US to turn it into a fund for the news industry.
This year, lawmakers Supporting the news industry by offering tax credits To hire a full-time journalist. Senate Bill 1327 It would impose a new tax on the data that Amazon, Meta and Google collect from users, and money from this “data extraction mitigation fee” would be used to provide tax credits to news organisations.
The tax measure requires approval by two-thirds of Congress, posing a political challenge in an election year.
