Facebook feeds may be free of news content if a bill introduced recently in the state Assembly eventually becomes law.

Sponsored by Assemblywoman Dr. Anna Kelles, D-Ithaca, A.7811 would create a journalism usage fee that would be paid by social media companies that disseminate news articles produced by New York media companies.

The fee would apply to social media companies with more than 50 million United States-based monthly active users or subscribers, is owned or controlled by someone with net sales or market capitalization of more than $550 billion or at least 50 billion worldwide monthly active users. Non-profit platforms would be exempt, meaning the legislation would apply to companies like Google, Meta, Twitter, YouTube, Whats App, Instagram, TikTok, WeChat and SnapChat, among others.

Journalism organizations eligible for payment under Kelles’ proposal would include daily or weekly journalism organizations or websites that function in a similar manner as legacy media. Payments would be determined through an arbitration process.

“Tech platforms not only benefit from the data they glean from news consumers, which they don’t share with publications, but they also sell ads against news content, directly profiting from the work of journalists,” Kelles wrote in her legislative memorandum. “And their power prevents publishers from being able to bargain with them on equal terms, forcing news organizations to accept unfair and exploitative relationships, knowing there is no alternative.”

Any legislative discussion of Kelles’ bill is likely to take place in 2024 when the state Legislature convenes for its next full session.

Similar legislation has been gaining steam in California. The bill, which passed the Assembly floor with bipartisan support in early June and was referred to a Senate Committee last week, would require companies such as Google and Meta to share with California media companies their advertising revenue stemming from the news and other reported content. The amount would be determined through an arbitration process. The bill would also require at least 70% of the shared revenue go toward journalists’ salaries.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, threatened to pull all news content from its platforms if the bill becomes law. The company has made similar threats to the U.S. Congress in 2022 and the Canadian government this year when those lawmakers attempted similar measures to bolster local journalism.

Meta also said the California bill would create a “slush fund” primarily benefiting out-of-state newspaper chains and hedge funds.

“The bill fails to recognize that publishers and broadcasters put their content on our platform themselves and that substantial consolidation in California’s local news industry came over 15 years ago, well before Facebook was widely used,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement a day ahead of the vote. “It is disappointing that California lawmakers appear to be prioritizing the best interests of national and international media companies over their own constituents.”

Wicks called Meta’s statement “an empty threat,” noting that “these are companies that have made billions and billions and billions of dollars while our newsrooms are shutting down across the state of California.”

Opponents of the bill, including LION Publishers, a national news group representing more than 450 independent newsrooms, have also raised concerns that the measure would encourage more clickbait news content.

Much like the New York bill, the California bill creates a process requiring tech platforms to pay news publishers adequate compensation for their use of work produced by journalists. It would also require the proceeds of those negotiations to be reinvested in newsrooms, ensuring that the funds go directly toward supporting more working reporters.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.