SACRAMENTO - The Yes on AB 886 Coalition issued the following statement this past week - attributable to Brittney Barsotti, General Counsel for the California News Publishers Association - after the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to pass the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA, AB 886 - Wicks):

"We applaud lawmakers for standing up to Big Tech and their threats to cut off news in California. Google and Meta have broken the news media marketplace. Since the companies emerged as dominant market players in the mid-2000s, nearly a third of the newspapers in the country have shuttered. This market dominance has led to an increase in mis- and disinformation, the growth of news deserts, and the lack of credible and independent government watchdogs in communities across our state. Google being declared a monopoly only underscores the need for immediate action to regulate the tech giant.

"Preserving and growing California's newsrooms is critical to protecting democracy and holding government accountable. The CJPA will result in a revitalized local press corps, which is good for all Californians, and correct the current market imbalance. We thank Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Anna Caballero and her committee for their support."

The CJPA was introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and would require large tech platforms like Google and Meta to compensate news outlets for the use of outlets’ content on their platforms.

Meta and Google profit from local journalism without compensating the outlets they share stories from. By requiring these giant tech firms to negotiate with local media outlets for the right to use their content, the California Journalism Preservation Act will increase the amount of revenue available to grow newsrooms and hire journalists. AB 886 would require 70% of the funds collected from these agreements to be reinvested back into the newsroom and journalism jobs.

This additional funding - as evidenced by similar efforts in Australia and Canada - will result in a revitalized local press corps with the ability to fight back against misinformation, hold government officials accountable, and preserve democracy.

The bill, sponsored by the California News Publishers Association, is supported by a broad coalition of small publishers, ethnic media publishers, public interest law groups, and labor.

To learn why the CJPA (AB 886) is critical to preserving local news and protecting democracy, visit https://www.yesab886.com/