Louisiana’s two U.S. senators are supporting a bipartisan bill that would allow small, local news organizations to earn compensation from tech companies such as Facebook and Google, which bill supporters say are unfairly profiting off of small publishers’ content.
The bill, S. 673, would cover Louisiana’s major newspapers, according to an Aug. 23 news release from Republican Sen. John Kennedy. The legislation would exempt digital journalism providers from state and federal antitrust laws for eight years to allow them to better negotiate access to their stories with tech companies.
In addition, the journalism outlets covered by the law would have the right to file civil lawsuits against tech companies for violations of the measure if it is signed into law.
“Tech giants like Facebook and Google are hammering local publications by keeping them from making a profit on Big Tech platforms – and it’s killing local journalism,” Kennedy said in a prepared statement.
Louisiana's other U.S. Senator, Bill Cassidy, is one of the bill's co-sponsors.
Trade associations representing tech companies, however, have expressed opposition to concepts in the bill. Both the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice say the measure would not be a panacea for economic issues facing local journalism outlets.
“CCIA president Matt Schruers has expressed concerns about the bill,” Heather Greenfield, CCIA’s spokeswoman, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “There have been some changes when it was reintroduced, but (it) doesn't solve the problem with funding journalism, something we do care about, and it creates antitrust problems.”
NetChoice has said the bill, titled the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, would lead to government handouts going to legacy media outlets and undermine future competition in news distribution.
“By shielding U.S. newspapers from antitrust laws and incentivizing them to collude, the bill still gives government power to dictate what is and is not legitimate news and diminishes the competitive media landscape,” Jennifer Huddleston, policy counsel for NetChoice, said in a prepared statement.
Critics also say the bill would lead to less free news online because it would force tech companies to pay publishers when the platforms provide links to their articles.