Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) re-introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) on Friday March 31, 2023. The bill boasts 13 original co-sponsors.
The JCPA would:
- Empower eligible digital journalism providers—that is, news publishers with fewer than 1,500 exclusive full-time employees and news broadcasters that engage in standard newsgathering practices—to form joint negotiation entities to collectively negotiate with a covered platform over the pricing, terms, and conditions under which the covered platform’s access to digital news content.
- Require covered platforms—which are online platforms that have at least 50 million U.S.-based users or subscribers and are owned or controlled by a person that has either net annual sales or market capitalization greater than $550 billion or at least 1 billion worldwide monthly active users—to negotiate in good faith with the eligible news organizations.
- Create a limited safe harbor from federal and state antitrust laws for eligible digital journalism providers that allows them to participate in joint negotiations and arbitration and, as part of those negotiations, to jointly withhold their content from a covered platform.
- Prohibit discrimination by a joint negotiation entity or a covered platform against an eligible digital journalism provider based on its size or the views expressed in its content and provide a private right of action for violations of this prohibition.
- Prohibit retaliation by a covered platform against eligible digital journalism providers for participating in joint negotiations or arbitration and provide a private right of action for violations of this prohibition.
NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said, “in the current media landscape, local news outlets – including local television and radio stations – are at the mercy of a handful of Big Tech gatekeepers whose anticompetitive terms devalue our content when it is increasingly accessed online. This legislation would level the playing field by enabling fair negotiations and increased investment in local newsrooms.”
The full press release from Sen. Klobuchar’s office can be found here.
