Much has been said about the role social media platforms play when it comes to news. As physical newspapers go extinct, for example, the number of people who rely on apps to get their news continues to grow. Meta, the social media giant behind platforms like Instagram and Facebook, has repeatedly addressed the impact it’s had on news consumption and perception. Now, the company is declining to work around Illinois-based legislation that could alter how it displays news within its apps.
As Fox affiliate WTVO reports, a new bill proposing the Journalism Preservation Act could potentially require companies like Meta to pay media outlets for news content displayed on their apps in Illinois. This means that if Instagram circulates news from an Illinois-based outlet, it has to pay a fee whenever it is shown to an app user in the state.
Sen. Steve Stadelman, who spearheads the Illinois Local Journalism Task Force, is responsible for proposing the legislation. The former news anchor claims that the goal of the law would be to ensure content creators are compensated for their work when it’s displayed online. A spokesperson for Meta has already stated that if the legislation passes, it intends to stop displaying news to Illinois-based app users. They added that the news content circulating on Meta apps is voluntarily posted and not the primary reason people use the platforms.
While the hard stance may seem detrimental to Meta, similar regulations have not stopped the company from making such moves in the past. In 2023, Canada passed a sweeping law called the Online News Act. This blocked all news content on social media platforms with the goal of ensuring publishers were paid for their distributed work. Rather than negotiate and pay similar fees to publishers, Meta chose to leave the country — all news content was blocked on its social media platforms (via The Verge). Whether the company will give Illinois the same treatment has yet to be seen, but given its statement, the decision seems inevitable.
Maybe if we start telling people the brain is an app they will start using it!
