On Wednesday, California lawmakers announced a deal with Google that will require both the tech company and the State of California to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for local journalism. The settlement, which averts a proposed digital ad tax (SB 1327) and link tax (AB 886) on tech platforms, will provide nearly $250 million in public and private funding to support local journalism over the next five years. 

“California wisely averted the disaster of lost traffic and revenue that Canadian news publishers have experienced as a result of its news link tax,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “A link-tax-funded news bailout was always a pipe dream, but this deal will provide real financial support for California news gathering. This is a win for Californians who care about local news.”

Earlier this month, Chamber of Progress released new research on the potential impact of CJPA, estimating total traffic and revenue lost should CJPA pass and online platforms remove news links from their sites. The research, which includes a searchable database of CJPA’s impact on more than 100 local outlets, found that should CJPA pass, local news stood to loose an estimated nine million clicks a year.

In a separate study, also released this month, Chamber of Progress examined the impact of a proposed digital ad tax in California similar to SB 1327. The research found that over a quarter million California businesses rely on online advertising and that an average local business advertising across Google, Meta, and Amazon could see ad costs spike by $14,000 annually should California enact a 7.25% tax on online ads.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.