Facebook Parent Threatens To Take All News Off Platforms If US Passes 'Ill-Considered' Bill — But Is It 'Bluffing?'

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc META Communications Director Andy Stone said the social media giant would consider removing news from its platform if Congress passes the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, but the company’s statement was met with skepticism online.

What Happened: Stone shared Meta’s statement on the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act on Twitter Monday.

“If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation, we will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations.” said the Mark Zuckerberg-led company.

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In response, Jason Kint CEO of Digital Content Next, a trade association that represents digital media companies, said, “Bluffing. This is where I remind everyone Facebook spent 9 months plotting to cause chaos in Australia before retreating and then threatened Canada, too.”

Why It Matters: Kint brought up the example of Australia and said the News Media Bargaining Code has worked in that country.

Since I brought up Australia, you should know that law has worked which is entirely at odds with what Facebook and many of the influencers, academics and journalists it holds close said would happen. One more final tweet. 2/3 https://t.co/6cM88Hu7PJ

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) December 5, 2022

Facebook and Google have entered into 30 deals with media outlets since the Australian law was passed. However, Facebook shut its news feeds in Australia briefly after its passage, which caused chaos in the Oceanic country.

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