Web giants and media | In California as in Canada, a refusal to back down

(Ottawa) In her San Francisco Bay District, the elected Democrat Buffy Wicks represents many workers who go every morning to the headquarters of Meta, Google or other Silicon Valley web giants.

That didn’t stop her from introducing a bill in the California State Assembly to force multinational corporations to enter into retribution agreements with the media outlets whose content they publish.

Yes, like in Canada.

And the day before Election Day in Sacramento, May 31, Meta threatened to block access to California news on Facebook and Instagram platforms if the bill finally passes. California Journalism Preservation Act.

Yes, like in Canada.

The bill was approved in a bipartisan way in the Assembly, with 55 votes against 6 (out of 80 representatives). It was put on hold on a temporary basis last Friday so that various adjustments could be made to it before the vote in the Senate.

“We just needed a little more time. California is the fourth largest economy in the world, and our policies can be models for other states. I prefer to do well than quickly, ”explains the Democratic representative in an interview. Zoom.

But she insists: she wants to act to frame these companies holding “enormous monopolistic power”, and the threats they have made or will make will not get the better of her determination: “It doesn’t make me flinch . »

As for Meta’s behavior, she feels that he lacks height.

The Oakland resident doesn’t need to travel far to take her pulse on the court. The mecca of technology and the digital economy, Silicon Valley, is an hour away, and many of its constituents are employed by a web giant.

“Let’s say I hear about it,” she laughs from her side of the screen.

“But at the end of the day, I consider it essential to protect the freedom of the press”, insists the elected official, being surprised by the fact that the giants of the web “really think that they are not part of the problem [du déclin des médias] “.

Congress also on the move

The United States Congress is also working on a legislative measure intended to force the Internet giants to compensate the media whose news content they broadcast, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.

There too, Meta showed the teeth. So much so that Congress first abandoned the measure sponsored by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and fellow Republican John Kennedy last year, according to the washington post.

However, they returned to the charge last March. “The local media are plunged into an existential crisis. Advertising revenue is plummeting, and newsrooms are closing across the country,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar.

A worrying struggle

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez hit back at Meta by announcing last week that the federal government was suspending all ad buying on Facebook and Instagram.

Apart from the government of Quebec, no other elsewhere in Canada had followed suit – until British Columbia decided to do so on Wednesday. Quebec and national media, Quebec government corporations and a few businesses have also decided to join the boycott movement.

The confrontation with internet companies seems to be a source of tension.

According to a survey conducted by the firm Angus Reid^⁠while 61% of respondents believe that the media giants should compensate the media for the distribution of content, 63% fear losing access to Canadian news on Facebook and Google.

The same sounding published Monday establishes at 48% the proportion of those who want to see the government back down. It also shows that 85% of survey participants do not pay for the news they consume online.

The survey was conducted among 1,610 adults (388 in Quebec, 311 Francophones).

Countdown

There Online News Act of the Canadian government must come into force once the regulatory process is completed, in December. Until then, Minister Pablo Rodriguez hopes to iron out differences with Google.

He also recently met with representatives of the company, which is currently avoiding the boycott of advertising purchases, because the minister considers the attitude of its leaders to be more constructive – and this, even if they made the same threat. than Meta^⁠.

There were also discussions with Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Buffy Wicks. The latter had still not spoken with Pablo Rodriguez on Tuesday. But she already encourages him not to throw in the towel, because “that’s what needs to be done”.

“What is Google’s motto, then? she asks aloud. Answer : ” Do the right thing ”, which appears in the code of conduct of its parent company, Alphabet – it came to replace “ don’t be evil in the previous version of Google.