Fact Sheet originally published by MPA – The Association of Magazine Media

Download PDF of Fact Sheet

In the absence of a federal standard, state privacy laws should promote harmonized, workable provisions that protect consumers and their data.

THE ISSUE

Magazine media publishers leverage personal data for expected, responsible business practices that benefit readers and promote newsgathering in the public interest. As states develop data protection laws, businesses need consistent and workable data requirements to fulfill their consumers’ data privacy preferences.

MPA supports a robust national privacy standard to protect the data privacy of all Americans, everywhere. Absent a national privacy standard, inconsistent state laws would deny consumers clear information about their rights and make compliance difficult for businesses.

A BETTER SOLUTION

Consistent legislation, across U.S. states, that upholds the ability of news media entities to engage in expected data practices and avoid punitive actions.

Preserve commonly expected practices that sustain media and journalism. Legislative proposals should accommodate longstanding and expected practices related to first-party marketing, subscriber incentives, order fulfillment and loyalty programs. Newsgathering practices should be an explicit exception.

Harmonize proposals with laws already adopted by other states. Virginia and Colorado recently enacted measures that specify consumers’ rights, clearly define unreasonable data practices, uphold consumer choice, and preserve the benefits that come from the responsible use of data.

Reject a punitive private right of action. Enforcement by the state Attorney General is highly effective. A broad private right of action provides no additional privacy protections for consumers and could be used to disproportionately penalize news media organizations through meritless, frivolous litigation.

THE TAKEAWAY

• States can ensure effective, workable data protections by harmonizing proposals with the legislation already adopted by other states.
• Readers trust magazine media publishers with their data. Consumers deserve strong, consistent data protections that support responsible first-party data practices

Magazine Media Delivers

Valued & trusted content 

• Content that is researched, curated and edited.
• Readers value our content, such as educational, cultural, scientific, and informational content, in long-form articles and on digital platforms.

Diverse & multigenerational connections

• Read by more than 90% of U.S. adults across all age groups and demographics, including 18-25.
• A 1.5 billion audience across all its platforms – digital, mobile, video and print.

Commitment & investment to our communities

• More than 240,000 U.S. jobs supported with an annual average wage of more than $98,000.
• Trusted, long-standing first party relationship based on respect and transparency for our readers.
• Partner in environmental stewardship, using biodegradable, recyclable and certified materials.

The post Fact Sheet: Magazine Media Publishers Call for Consistent Data Standards appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Fact Sheet originally published by MPA – The Association of Magazine Media

Download PDF of Fact Sheet

America needs a robust federal data privacy standard to protect consumers and their data.

THE ISSUE

Magazine publishers leverage personal data for expected, responsible business practices that benefit readers and promote newsgathering in the public interest. Businesses, including news media entities, need consistent and workable data requirements to meet reader expectations on data privacy.

MPA supports a robust national privacy standard to protect the data privacy of all Americans, everywhere. Absent a national privacy standard, inconsistent state laws would deny consumers clear information about their rights and make compliance difficult for businesses.

A BETTER SOLUTION

Federal legislation that upholds the ability of news media entities to engage in expected data practices and avoid punitive actions.

Codify universally recognized data principles. Legislation should specify consumers’ rights, clearly define unreasonable data practices, uphold consumer choice, and preserve the benefits that come from the responsible use of data.

Preserve commonly expected practices that sustain media and journalism. Legislative proposals should accommodate longstanding and expected practices related to first-party marketing, subscriber incentives, order fulfillment and loyalty programs. Newsgathering practices should be an explicit exception.

Reject a punitive private right of action. Enforcement by a well resourced Federal Trade Commission is highly effective and creates protections for American consumers wherever they reside. A broad private right of action provides no additional privacy protections for consumers and could be used to disproportionately penalize news media organizations through meritless, frivolous litigation.

THE TAKEAWAY

• Readers trust magazine media publishers with their data and publishers take that responsibility seriously.
• Consumers deserve strong, consistent data protections that support responsible first-party data practices.

Magazine Media Delivers

Valued & trusted content 

• Content that is researched, curated and edited.
• Readers value our content, such as educational, cultural, scientific, and informational content, in long-form articles and on digital platforms.

Diverse & multigenerational connections

• Read by more than 90% of U.S. adults across all age groups and demographics, including 18-25.
• A 1.5 billion audience across all its platforms – digital, mobile, video and print.

Commitment & investment to our communities

• More than 240,000 U.S. jobs supported with an annual average wage of more than $98,000.
• Trusted, long-standing first party relationship based on respect and transparency for our readers.
• Partner in environmental stewardship, using biodegradable, recyclable and certified materials.

The post Fact Sheet: Magazine Media Publishers Call for National Privacy Framework appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Fact Sheet originally published by MPA – The Association of Magazine Media

Download PDF of Fact Sheet

Taxes on the use of personal data unfairly target news media entities, are difficult and costly for businesses to administer, and disrupt services valued by consumers.

THE ISSUE

Some state legislatures are considering legislation that would impose a tax on the income derived from the use of personal data. News media entities, including magazine publishers, use advertising and other expected practices that utilize personal data to tailor and enhance the consumer experience, fund public interest investigations and reporting, keep subscriptions affordable, and sustain the cost of journalism and publishing in a changing media landscape.

Proponents of taxes on the use of personal data focus their arguments on the financial impact to large advertising platforms, but the costs of these taxes to businesses are compounded by unprecedented and confusing reporting requirements, unclear subject determinations and attribution ratios that have not been considered in other tax models.

A BETTER SOLUTION

Alternate revenue raisers that don’t threaten access to journalism. If lawmakers do move forward with a tax on the use of personal data, the legislation should:

Exempt news media. Maryland’s digital advertising tax includes an explicit exemption for “news media entities” and a prohibition on the pass-through of fees by advertising platforms.

Target undesirable data practices. The bill should exclude trusted first-party data practices in favor of focusing on non-transparent, unexpected, or potentially harmful data practices.

Clearly define applicability calculations. To minimize the economic harm on small and medium-sized businesses, lawmakers should: increase thresholds of consumers subject to the tax, exempt data collected for a business purpose – including journalism, exclude data provided directly by the consumer, and reject the use of IP address as a nexus determination.

THE TAKEAWAY

• The responsible use of personal data allows news media entities to provide valued services and content to readers, and it sustains public interest journalism.
• Taxes on the use of personal data threaten consumer access to critical news and media content.
• Lawmakers should reject personal data taxes or provide a news media entity exemption.

Magazine Media Delivers

Valued & trusted content 

• Content that is researched, curated and edited.
• Readers value our content, such as educational, culture, science, and information, in long-form articles and digital platforms.

Diverse & multigenerational connections

• Read by more than 90% of U.S. adults across all age groups and demographics, including 18-25.
• A 1.5 billion audience across all its platforms – digital, mobile, video and print.

Commitment & investment to our communities

• More than 240,000 U.S. jobs supported with an annual average wage of more than $98,000.
• Trusted, long-standing first party relationship based on respect and transparency for our readers.
• Partner in environmental stewardship, using biodegradable, recyclable and certified materials.

The post Fact Sheet: Confusing Proposals to Tax Personal Data Threaten Access to Journalism appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Fact Sheet originally published by MPA – The Association of Magazine Media

Download PDF of Fact Sheet

With 100% recyclable, biodegradable, non-toxic printed paper stock, magazines are partners in environmental stewardship and should be supported.

THE ISSUE

Inclusion of paper in EPR programs won’t increase recycling but would unfairly target magazine media.

Magazines are partners in recycling and environmental stewardship. Magazines are printed on non-toxic, biodegradable and 100-percent recyclable paper, and long-form magazine journalism has led the way on environmental education and advocacy. More than 63 percent of paper discarded by consumers is already recycled, and the EPA estimates that magazines account for only 0.3 percent of municipal solid waste.

State and local Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs that include paper products would perversely subsidize producers of hazardous, environmentally harmful and hard-to-recycle products, as it spreads some of their EPR costs to paper users and producers.

That is why paper products are excluded from EPR programs in Europe, which is generally considered to have more advanced recycling programs than U.S. jurisdictions.

And at 63 percent already, including paper in EPR programs likely would have no effect on increasing paper recycling rates. In British Columbia (BC), for example, EPR fees on paper products rose 86 percent in 2020 and nearly 50 percent more once again in 2021. Meanwhile, the paper recycling rate in BC is declining.

A BETTER SOLUTION

Target hazardous or hard-to-recycle products in EPR programs.

Target the real problem, not highly recyclable paper, by explicitly excluding environmentally friendly printed paper stock from EPR programs.

THE TAKEAWAY

• Printed on and with sustainable products, magazines are partners in recycling and environmental stewardship.
• Long-form magazine journalism has led the way on environmental education and advocacy.
• Imposing EPR programs on paper would punish good environmental actors and possibly reduce recycling rates.

Magazine Media Delivers

Valued and trusted content

• Content that is researched, curated and edited.
• Readers value our educational, cultural, scientific, and informational content, in longform articles and on digital platforms.

Diverse & multigenerational connections

• Read by more than 90% of U.S. adults across all age groups and demographics, including 18-25.
• A 1.5 billion audience across all its platforms – digital, mobile, video and print.

Commitment & investment to our communities

• More than 240,000 U.S. jobs supported with an annual average wage of more than $98,000.
• Trusted, long-standing first party relationship based on respect and transparency for our readers.
• Partner in environmental stewardship, using biodegradable, recyclable and certified materials.

The post Fact Sheet: Effective Environmental Policy Should Improve Environmental Performance, Not Penalize Environmentally Friendly Magazines appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Photo credit: anyaberkut / iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

Fact Sheet originally published by MPA – The Association of Magazine Media

Download PDF of Fact Sheet

Efforts to tax large technology platforms inadvertently harm news media entities, as well as the local businesses and non-profits that support them.

THE ISSUE

Some state legislatures are considering legislation that would impose a tax on revenue derived from digital advertising revenue. News media entities, including magazine publishers, rely on digital advertising revenue to support public interest journalism that provides critical content to Americans.

Proponents of digital advertising taxes say they want to limit their financial impact to large advertising platforms. But in practice, these taxes jeopardize Americans’ access to essential news information.

Digital ad taxes have a disproportionate impact on a key source of publishing revenue that allows publishers to provide the content that educates, informs, and delights readers. In addition, digital ad taxes would impose pass-through costs on local businesses and nonprofits in an already challenging economic climate.

A BETTER SOLUTION

Alternate revenue raisers that don’t discriminate against ad-supported online news media content.

Reject discriminatory taxes. Lawmakers should dismiss tax proposals that directly target revenue that sustains journalism and media.

Exempt news media. Should lawmakers introduce a digital advertising tax, they should include Maryland’s explicit exemption for “news media entities” and Maryland’s prohibition on the passthrough of fees by advertising platforms.

Avoid Constitutional concerns. Maryland’s digital advertising tax has already received multiple court challenges, including on First Amendment grounds. No revenue from the tax has been collected.

THE TAKEAWAY

• Digital advertising taxes threaten consumer access to this critical news and media content.
• Americans rely on ad-supported online content, including magazine media content, for vital news and information.
• Lawmakers should reject digital advertising taxes or provide a news media entity exemption.

Magazine Media Delivers

Valued & trusted content 

• Content that is researched, curated and edited.
• Readers value our content, such as educational, culture, science, and information, in long-form articles and digital platforms.

Diverse & multigenerational connections

• Read by more than 90% of U.S. adults across all age groups and demographics, including 18-25.
• A 1.5 billion audience across all its platforms – digital, mobile, video and print.

Commitment & investment to our communities

• More than 240,000 U.S. jobs supported with an annual average wage of more than $98,000.
• Trusted, long-standing first party relationship based on respect and transparency for our readers.
• Partner in environmental stewardship, using biodegradable, recyclable and certified materials.

The post Fact Sheet: Protect Access to Journalism by Rejecting Taxes on Digital Advertising appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Fact Sheet originally published by MPA – The Association of Magazine Media

Download PDF of Fact Sheet

Operational improvements and reform that ensure rate stability will allow magazine media to continue delivering the trusted content Americans love.

THE ISSUE

A proposed postage rate increase five times the rate of inflation, declining productivity and high structural costs threaten mailers and the long-term viability of the USPS.

Structural costs imposed by Congress, such as the prefunding requirement for retiree health benefits, are unnecessary and have created artificial cost pressures. These avoidable structural costs contributed to the Postal Regulatory Commission authorizing a rate increase of up to 7.6 percent above inflation ($2.3 billion this year alone). The increase, which could take effect in July 2021, violates the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate cap mandated by Congress.

Postal customers should not be subjected to unlawful rate increases many times the rate of inflation. Given that over 90 percent of magazine subscribers depend on the USPS for delivery, the rate increase could affect the future of magazines in the mail and threaten our ability to continue delivering the magazines Americans love. Continued rate stability must move hand-in-glove with congressional relief on USPS structural costs.

A BETTER SOLUTION

Ensure rate stability and protect mailers by enacting operational improvements and reform.

Mandate accountability. Disallow any “underwater surcharges” that target flat-shaped mail, such as magazines, without first addressing cost and productivity problems. Mailers should not bear the cost of USPS’s dismal flat-mail performance.

Ensure rate stability. The Postal Regulatory Commission must review the changes it made to the CPI price cap to comply with existing law and to account for Congressional action.

Enact reforms that address structural costs, including Medicare integration and elimination of the pre-funding mandate for the retiree health system.

THE TAKEAWAY

• Americans rely on USPS as an information lifeline – including for trusted magazine content.
• Operational improvement and reform must put customers first and start with rate stability.
• Unlawful rate increases are not the answer to the Postal Service’s financial challenges. That requires increased efficiency and lower costs, and financial relief measures.

Magazine Media Delivers

Valued & trusted content 

• Content that is researched, curated and edited.
• Readers value our content, such as educational, cultural, scientific, and informational content, in long-form articles and on digital platforms.

Diverse & multigenerational connections

• Read by more than 90% of U.S. adults across all age groups and demographics, including 18-25.
• A 1.5 billion audience across all its platforms – digital, mobile, video and print.

Commitment & investment to our communities

• More than 240,000 U.S. jobs supported with an annual average wage of more than $98,000.
• Trusted, long-standing first party relationship based on respect and transparency for our readers.
• Partner in environmental stewardship, using biodegradable, recyclable and certified materials.

The post Fact Sheet: Americans Deserve Affordable, Reliable Postal Service appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

View bill: H.R.  2054 – Journalism Competition & Preservation Act

The post Bill: Journalism Competition & Preservation Act appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-RI) office has provided a fact sheet about the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (H.R. 2054)

The post Fact Sheet: Journalism Competition & Preservation Act appeared first on News/Media Alliance.