But most of them do care about the freedom of the Press.
asserted
most → care → Press
And when that freedom is threatened by an American technology conglomerate with enormous power, many will become uneasy.
asserted
many → threaten → power
Meta owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and is run by the billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.
asserted
Meta → own → Zuckerberg
People talk about the power of the Press but the most successful newspapers in the world are minnows in comparison with Meta.
asserted
newspapers → talk → Meta
Facebook boasts over
3 billion 'active monthly users'.
asserted
Facebook → boast → users
There are around 6.4 billion people in the world aged over 12, so Facebook has close to half of them.
asserted
Facebook → be → them
Of course, no one could sensibly deny that Meta is an innovative company offering services many people want.
uncertain
people → deny → services
How does Meta threaten the freedom of the Press?
asserted
Meta → threaten → Press
If you're reading this article in a printed newspaper, you are not directly affected by what the American behemoth does.
asserted
behemoth → read → what
But if you are reading it online, it's possible you came to it via Meta.
asserted
you → read → Meta
Many people access newspaper articles through Facebook.
asserted
people → access → Facebook
This is particularly true for local news publications, which have taken the worst hit as print circulation tumbled over recent years.
asserted
circulation → take → years
In the UK, as many as a third of the audience of local news outlets originate on the social media platform.
asserted
third → originate → platform
People talk about the power of the Press but the most successful newspapers in the world are minnows in comparison with Meta
Facebook has recently, and unilaterally, sought to change its terms so that Meta will be able to 'crawl' or 'scrape' any website associated with a business account on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Messenger, the fourth of these particular Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
asserted
Meta → talk → Apocalypse
In plain English this means that Meta would gain access to large amounts of newspapers' journalism – everything ever published online – without having to pay for it.
asserted
Meta → mean → it
That, at any rate, is what many publishers fear.
asserted
publishers → fear → what
Publishers are worried that Meta will steal their journalism for its own purposes driven by a desire to train its AI, reducing the impact of what they produce themselves, and so inevitably diminishing their revenues.
asserted
they → worry → revenues
Theo Bamber, chief executive of The News Media Association, which represents over 900 news media titles across the United Kingdom including the Daily Mail, doesn't mince his words.
asserted
which → represent → words
He says: 'Meta's bid to force publishers to allow unrestricted scraping of their websites to power its AI products is an outrageous assault on journalism.'
Meanwhile the reaction of the Competition and Markets Authority – a regulatory quango – has been relatively robust.
asserted
reaction → say → Authority
It says that it 'shares at face value the concerns' of publishers, and is examining Facebook's change of terms.
asserted
it → say → terms
It's along the lines of 'Nothing to do with us, guv'.
asserted
It → do → us
In a statement to Reuters, it said the issue is largely one of misunderstanding, and asked for 'more time for us to explain' the reason for altering its terms.
asserted
us → say → terms
It has postponed the date at which this will occur until November 20.
asserted
this → postpone → November
Specifically, Meta claims that the new rights it is seeking won't change how it uses 'web crawlers', while it maintains that publishers will still be able to block Meta's bots if they want to.
uncertain
they → claim → bots
The image that comes into my mind is that of a large dog that has been caught in the act of removing a joint of beef from a trolley.
asserted
that → come → trolley
It stands there looking rather shamefaced, trying to give the impression the beef got into its mouth wholly by accident.
asserted
beef → stand → accident
Meta is claiming that thousands of publishers around the world have got the wrong end of the stick and there is nothing whatsoever to worry about.
asserted
thousands → claim → stick
I suppose it is just possible, but it doesn't seem very likely.
asserted
it → suppose → ?
My main reason for saying this is that, for all its innovative brilliance, Meta is an amoral company with monopolistic instincts, and already stands convicted of very bad behaviour.
asserted
Meta → say → behaviour
Only last week, a judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $25billion after a jury found the company liable for misleading users about privacy on Facebook.
asserted
company → order → Facebook
Meta is appealing against this record fine.
asserted
Meta → appeal → fine
More seriously to my mind, Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years in respect of allegations that it had deliberately designed addictive features that are harmful to children, such as the 'infinite scroll' on its apps.
asserted
that → agree → apps
There have been other cases against Meta that show the company in a poor light, and there are more in the pipeline in the United States and elsewhere that seem likely to have the same outcome.
asserted
that → show → outcome
Meta owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and is run by the billionaire Mark Zuckerberg
Famously, it has expertly minimised its tax liabilities.
asserted
it → own → liabilities
In the UK, which represents only a small segment of its global business, Meta made a pre-tax profit of £362.4million on revenues of £3.1billion in 2024.
asserted
Meta → represent → 2024
It paid tax at 12 per cent (about £41 million), around half the 25 per cent Corporation Tax rate.
asserted
It → pay → cent
Former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-leader of the Lib Dems Nick Clegg made a lucrative career out of defending Meta against many egregious charges, and is said to have pocketed £100million as President of Global Affairs.
asserted
Clegg → make → Affairs
Let's hope he can live with his conscience.
asserted
he → hope → conscience
Most of the rest of the world takes a more jaundiced view of this voracious company.
asserted
Most → take → company
Do we really believe that publishers have simply misread Meta's intentions, and that it has no designs on their journalism?
asserted
it → believe → journalism
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
