Journalism Usage Fee – California Measure Would Force Internet Sites To Pay News Outlets

A yet-to-be-formalized California bill called the Journalism Usage Fee would force internet sites like Facebook to pay news outlets for news content.

California lawmakers this week are launching a plan to force digital giants like Facebook and Google to pay publishers for news content, taking a contentious global fight to the state level.

On Monday, California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) announced legislation to require large tech companies to pay a “journalism usage fee” whenever they run digital ads next to news content, such as articles, while making publishers reinvest in journalism jobs.

The California Journalism Competition and Preservation Act resembles a separate bitterly contested federal bill that would allow publishers to jointly bargain content distribution terms with the tech giants. 

News industry leaders said the California bill is the first of its kind at the state level — and that it could ignite another major standoff b...

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