How 2 California bills are trying to save local news outlets
Local news outlets are on life support across the country, but two new California bills are trying to help. They would require search engines and social media platforms to compensate outlets for accessing their news content.
The first bill, Assembly Bill 886, would mandate that a platform — whether social media or search engines — compensate news websites for accessing their stories, possibly through a set fee or an amount set by negotiation. The bill would require that 70% of those fees be used toward keeping news reporting jobs in California.
The second, Senate Bill 1327, would force the big platforms to pay a tax for the data they collect on users. That tax money would be handed over to news organizations through a tax credit, again for employing news reporters.
The first bill, Assembly Bill 886, would mandate that a platform — whether social media or search engines — compensate news websites for accessing their stories, possibly through a set fee or an amount set by negotiation. The bill would require that 70% of those fees be used toward keeping news reporting jobs in California.
The second, Senate Bill 1327, would force the big platforms to pay a tax for the data they collect on users. That tax money would be handed over to news organizations through a tax credit, again for employing news reporters.
