A California bill that would require big tech companies to pay news outlets a journalism usage fee has been put on hold until 2024.
Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), author of Assembly Bill 886, announced July 7 that the bill would be rescheduled to next year to allow more time for improvement.
“I’ve agreed to make AB 886 a two-year bill in order to ensure the strongest legislation possible—because getting this policy right is more important than getting it quick,” Ms. Wicks said in a statement released the same day.
The proposed bill—also known as the California Journalism Preservation Act—would require tech companies, like Facebook and Instagram, to pay such a fee if they sell advertising with their respective news feeds. It would also require publishers to devote 70 percent of these funds to create and maintain journalism jobs in the state….