FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bill will provide safe harbor for news publishers to collectively negotiate with tech platforms
Arlington, VA –The News Media Alliance applauds House Antitrust Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI), Ranking Member Ken Buck (R-CO), Senate Antitrust Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) for today reintroducing the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act” (JCPA). The bill would provide a limited antitrust safe harbor for news publishers to collectively negotiate with Facebook and Google for fair compensation for the use of their content.
In response to the bill reintroduction in both the House and Senate, News Media Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern, said, “This is a huge milestone for U.S. news publishers. As we have seen over the last several weeks in Australia and Europe, the world is moving toward new compensation systems for publishers. The cost of inaction, in terms of the spread of misinformation we are all experiencing, is simply too great to ignore any longer. Quality journalism is key to sustaining civic society and we must ensure that the digital ecosystem returns value back to the people who create that journalism.”
Since 2018, the News Media Alliance has been vocally advocating for such legislation in the U.S., which it believes is needed to address the imbalance in the news publisher-platform relationship. “Without an antitrust safe harbor, news publishers will have no capacity to collectively fight for their futures,” Chavern said.
The previous bill received support from several Representatives and Senators on both sides of the aisle and has now been reintroduced in the 117th Congress to continue progressing forward.
Chavern added, “We are grateful to Chairs Cicilline and Klobuchar, Ranking Member Buck, and Senator Kennedy for their commitment to quality journalism, and we look forward to working with them on ways to further strengthen the bill to ensure equitable terms and fair compensation for the valuable content being produced by all news publishers, including small and community publishers. News publishers need a fighting chance with the tech platforms that currently control who receives our content and how much we are paid.”
Currently, the Duopoly captures 90 percent of all digital ad revenue growth and approximately 60 percent of total U.S. digital advertising revenue. The Alliance joins the members of Congress in their belief that a safe harbor for news publishers to allow them to come together to negotiate with the platforms on their overall behalf is the solution to this problem.
That basic idea now has wide support across the political spectrum and is the cornerstone of all comprehensive solutions. More information on the bill can be found in the News Media Alliance’s JCPA Talking Points.
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Media contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org
571.366.1009
The News Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,000 news organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print, digital and mobile publishers of original news content. Headquartered near Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Va., the association focuses on ensuring the future of news media through communication, research, advocacy and innovation. Information about the News Media Alliance (formerly NAA) can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
