Democratic State Senator Steve Glazer criticized the deal, stating that Google's offer falls short of their settlement agreement in Canada. He also questioned why only Google was involved in the deal and not other tech companies like Meta and Amazon. Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire expressed concerns about the proposal's lack of sufficient funding for newspapers and local media, and its failure to fully address the industry's inequities.
Key takeaways:
- Google has agreed to fund local journalism and an artificial intelligence initiative in California, contributing $55 million to a news fund over five years and $62.5 million over five years for a 'National AI Innovation Accelerator.'
- The deal, which requires legislative approval, has drawn criticism from some lawmakers and the Media Guild of the West union, which called it a 'shakedown' and criticized its lack of transparency.
- Democratic State Senator Steve Glazer criticized the deal as inadequate and questioned why only Google was involved, not other tech companies like Meta and Amazon.
- The deal includes a commitment from Google to continue funding the company's existing journalism programs with $10 million annually for five years.