Sacramento, Calif. – The California Assembly Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing Tuesday morning at 9am PDT on a bill that would tax links based on internet search inquiries. While national legislation attempts to change antitrust rules for some news media outlets, California’s AB 886, the “California Journalism Preservation Act” (CJPA) institutes more of a link tax where digital services pay fees to send traffic to news sites, similar to link taxes in Europe.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has advocated for policies that support access to information online for more than 25 years and submitted a coalition letter opposing AB 886 signed by 12 public interest and tech groups. The letter raised concerns about potential conflicts with federal law on copyright and First Amendment issues. The bill’s “retaliation clause” would also inhibit content moderation, which helps curb misinformation and dangerous content online.
CCIA President Matt Schruers will testify against the bill Tuesday. For additional background information, see blog posts on AB 886 here and a similar federal bill here.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Matt Schruers:
“CCIA understands and supports the vital role of trustworthy news sources in a thriving democracy. However, proposals to create a link tax would create more problems than they solve. Requiring a fee to send internet traffic from one site to another is not a sustainable business model for digital companies or news outlets. The internet is navigated through links. It is concerning to give whatever political party is in power the ability to decide which group should pay another as users roam online.
“This approach would entrench incumbent publishers and lead to greater media concentration, and could financially reward the spread of misinformation and incentivize ‘clickbait.’”