Washington: A severe reaction emerged from across the globe against Facebook’s unilateral decision to impose a ban on news in Australia. The US, the UK and other European countries have stepped up efforts for action against Facebook and other big tech companies, and a bill is likely to be introduced soon in the US Congress. Congressman Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, provided information on the new bill.
‘Local news outlets play a vital role in providing information to the American public. However, the growing threat from big tech companies has crushed many American dailies. Google and Facebook have wiped out the newspaper industry. The new bill, which will be introduced in the US Congress, will aid the revival for small and local news outlets struggling to survive,’ said Ken Buck, the top Republican on the panel.
In recent years, the US Congress has taken an assertive stance against the leading companies in information technology, known as the big tech. A US Congressional report alleges that the companies are pursuing monopolistic and hegemonic policies to kill their competition. The US Congress also held hearings of key executives of companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Twitter, and Microsoft.
The big tech companies have also been fined billions of dollars in various cases. US lawmakers even proposed breaking up the big tech that dominates many sectors, including information technology, with their economic power. The new bill is also seen as a crucial milestone in the ongoing campaign against big tech. The bill would require companies such as Google and Facebook to pay news outlets for the news and articles that appear in the website’s feeds.
Earlier, Google and Facebook had signed agreements for such transactions in France, Germany and Brazil. As a result, it seems likely that the companies may be forced to enter into agreements with local media companies in the United States.
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