When Facebook talks, people listen. Perhaps not as many people who listened before the Big Tech giant went full-metal left-wing, but a significant number just the same — if only to hear the latest leftist propaganda or hollow threats from the social media platform. In this case, it’s the latter.
Struggling Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced on Monday it will “consider removing news altogether” from Facebook if the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) is added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week. As I reported on Monday, the JCPA continues to be controversial, including among the strangest of political bedfellows.
In the article, I covered a loophole in the JCPA that could be used to force U.S. tech companies to not only cover but also pay for propaganda from Communist China and other bad actors. It occurs to me that Mark Zuckerberg & Co. would be thrilled with the law, given Facebook’s leftist bent, but I digress — for now.
Nonetheless, Meta spokesman Andy Stone tweeted on 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.
(The tweet has apparently been removed.)
Stone also declared: “No company should be forced to pay for content that users don’t want to see.” Do you suppose it occurs to this guy that Facebook regularly suppresses or deletes posts, comments, memes, and images that millions of its (conservative) users do want to see?
Not a chance, considering the following RedState articles.
Facebook Accused of Monitoring Private Communications by Conservatives
Zuckerberg Backs Platform That Encourages Teachers to ‘Listen to Online Conversations’ of Parents
Republicans Want Communications Between Facebook and FBI Turned Over After Hunter Laptop Story
Besides, as noted by the Washington Examiner, the reality is that Facebook users want news and Facebook produces zero news. The reality? Facebook needs journalists; they just don’t pay journalists for the content they produce.
Incidentally, I have a large following on my Facebook page, a coveted (silly) blue check mark, and the whole bit — and I, like untold numbers of others, have never seen a dime from Zuckerville.
By the way, this isn’t the first time Meta has made such a threat. Before Australia passed a similar law in 2021, Facebook issued a similar statement and actually tried to follow through — for less than a week — before it folded like a cheap suit and caved.
The Bottom Line
Regardless of one’s view of the so-called Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, including mine, would the JCPA mean less control for Facebook monitors and likely less revenue for Zuckerberg’s playground? Probably, which is exactly why the Big Tech giant is so vehemently opposed to it.