U.S. lawmakers unveil bill to help news media negotiate with Google, Facebook

Reuters

Published Aug 22, 2022 07:57PM ET

Updated Aug 23, 2022 08:46PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Monday released a revised version of a bill aimed at making it easier for news organizations to negotiate collectively with platforms like Google and Facebook (NASDAQ:META).

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act "removes legal obstacles to news organizations' ability to negotiate collectively and secure fair terms from gatekeeper platforms that regularly access news content without paying for its value," according to a news release from the lawmakers.

The group includes Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Senator John Kennedy, both members of the Judiciary Committee, and House Judiciary Committee members David Cicilline, a Democrat, and Ken Buck, a Republican.

A previous version of the bill, introduced in March 2021, was opposed by two technology industry trade groups that Meta Platforms' Facebook, and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Google belong to - the Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice.