A California bill that would require large tech companies to pay news publishers for their content is on hold until at least next year, and it appears lobbying by those same companies played a role.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Google spent $1.5 million lobbying state lawmakers between January and September, including $1.2 million for an advertisement attacking Assembly Bill 886, the California Journalism Preservation Act.
In contrast, the California News Publishers Association and News/Media Alliance, both of which support the bill, spent $161,519 on lobbying in California during that same time period, the Times reports.
While Google is using money to fight the bill, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has said it will block news stories from appearing on its platforms if the bill becomes law.
