California Should Reject Absurd Google Journalism Deal

In response to a reported backroom deal between California lawmakers and Google that would terminate the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA) and create a privately-funded “AI Accelerator,” the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“This backroom deal is bad for journalists, publishers, and all Californians, which is why state lawmakers including Governor Newsom should reject it and proceed through a transparent legislative process,” said Lee Hepner, Senior Legal Counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “The fact that a journalism preservation bill may be replaced with a Google-funded AI Accelerator is not just absurd policy, it’s horrendous politics. That this AI deal is reportedly close to being finalized and we still don’t know the details speaks volumes about who is driving the decision-making process in Sacramento — and it’s not the journalists, publishers, or newsrooms who have had their industry hollowed out by Google’s monopoly.”

The CJPA sought to rebalance the unequal relationship between tech platforms and news organizations by enabling publishers and workers to receive a portion of the profits tech platforms make selling ads against the work of journalists. The draft deal between California lawmakers and Google abandons the CJPA framework, provides nominal, insufficient funding for news outlets, rejects basic labor protections, and creates a Google-funded “AI Accelerator.” At present, there are no public details about the purpose or terms of the alleged AI deal. Concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence to journalists, content creators, and workers, and the threat that Big Tech incumbents will exploit chokepoints to control the future of AI innovation are well known.

During a previous attempt to move AB 886 through the California State Assembly, Google and Facebook threatened to remove news links from their online platforms across the entire state, echoing similar threats levied at Australia and Canada during their deliberation of similar bills. Australia and Canada both adopted versions of the policy that have largely proven successful. The proposed deal between CA lawmakers and Google would amount to less than half the $74 million Google agreed to give Canadian newsrooms for their bill, even though California’s economy is 2.5 times the size of Canada’s economy.

The timing of this deal is especially insulting considering that on August 5, a federal court found Google in violation of federal antitrust laws in the matter of U.S. v. Google (the Google Search case). Furthermore, the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google’s advertising technology monopoly is set to go to trial on Sept. 9th. Despite a promising case from the DOJ in the adtech trial, antitrust cases take time and immense resources. Legislation would provide immediate and needed relief to working journalists, which is why it’s crucial that enforcement and legislative efforts go hand in hand to address Big Tech’s undue power over the industry.

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