Journalism Competition Taken Up in the Senate
Posted on Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 7:25 PM
The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee will examine the issue in a hearing
next week.
Next week, the US Senate will conduct a hearing on
antitrust issues facing the journalism sector, entitled “Breaking the
News -- Journalism, Competition and the Effects of Market Power on a
Free Press,” reports John Eggerton of Next TV. The hearing comes in
advance of proposed legislation to protect publishers in an online and
social publishing landscape filled with potential legal landmines.
Eggerton writes that the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act
(JCPA), ... would grant publishers immunity from federal and state
antitrust laws for a 48-month period while they bargain collectively
with digital platforms.”
The bill is seeing bipartisan
support in the Senate, cosponsored by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The House Antitrust Subcommittee is taking up a
similar bill, led by committee chair David Cicilline (D-RI), who “has
argued that if the balance of power remains as it is, Big Tech’s
dominance of digital advertising could be an ‘extinction-level event’
for local media.” Read more here.
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