In the wake of the heated stalemate between platforms and publishers in Australia, U.S. lawmakers reconsidered a law that would allow the news industry to negotiate content deals with technology companies as a whole. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) and David Cicilline (D-RI) in the House, Ken Buck (R-NY) and Mark DeSaulnier have sponsored the Journalism Competition and Protection Act in Santa (D-CA). ). The law first introduced in 2019, but a bipartisan group of lawyers is hoping to breathe new life into the Biden era.
The bill would create an exemption from existing no-confidence laws that would allow news agencies jointly negotiate favorable terms with technology companies such as Facebook and Google. This particular treatment will open a 48-month window for publishers theoretically encourage their advantage further improve the industry as a whole. The United States is not the only country that has joined the cause of publishing technology platforms. Last month, Facebook dramatically pulled links to news content in Australia as it went back against new regulations that could force technology platforms to pay for more content. In particular, Facebook objected to a final arbitration clause that would automatically set news prices if technology platforms and news publishers could not agree on terms.
“If we want to preserve a strong and independent press, we must enable news organizations to have a level playing field with the big technology companies,” Sen. Klobuchar said of the bill, which would give publishers a “fight chance.”
“A strong, diverse, free press is key to any successful democracy,” Rep. Said Cicilline. “Access to credible local journalism helps inform the public, hold powerful people accountable, and eliminate corruption.” Both Cicilline and Klobuchar sit in positions of power and chair their respective self-contradictory subcommittees in the House and Senate. In the coming months, those committees will play a major role in shaping the legislative proposals that could lead to many major technological advances. Balancing the power of huge technology platforms against the priorities of the shrinking news industry is just one piece of that puzzle.
