Meta threatens to remove news from Facebook over bill

(NewsNation) — Meta threatened to ban news from the U.S. version of Facebook if Congress passes legislation requiring platforms like Facebook or Google to negotiate with and compensate publishers for their content. Called the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, it was passed by a committee but still needs approval through the full Senate.

Facebook previously threatened to block news in Canada and Australia when similar laws were proposed in those countries, The Verge reported. Recently, New Zealand also proposed new legislation that would require major tech companies to pay for local news content, NewsNation partner The Hill wrote.

Andy Stone, spokesperson for Meta, Facebook's parent company, slammed the Journalism and Competition Act on Twitter, calling it "ill-considered." "No company should be forced to pay for content users don't want to see and that's not a meaningful source of revenue," Stone said.

Colby Hall, founding editor of Mediaite, says news organizations argue there is value in news content on social media platforms. "I happen to believe that social media without the news is just jokes and memes and pictures of your kids and gossip," Hall said on "Morning in America. "And yes, there is some value there. It's fun. It's a distraction. But the thing that I guess news organizations are saying is the real value, the thing they actually spend a lot of money on, is reporting the news, and that's what adds great value to Facebook."

While journalism is needed, Hall said, social media is the future. "How can we marry the two so that there's two healthy institutions, and the body politic can be well-informed with reasonable people, reliable people, or outlets, and we can be smarter forward and not just fall prey to gossip and propaganda?" Hall said.

Watch the full interview with Colby Hall in the video player above.