The development of the internet increased competition in journalism by allowing anyone with a computer to get the news from any digital publication anywhere in the world. And today, we know more than ever about what is happening locally and internationally. But the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act represents a government handout to a legacy industry in the form of watering down antitrust laws for a powerful few.
“The Journalism and Competition Preservation Act exempts the largest newspapers in the nation from antitrust laws and empowers them to collude and ultimately decide what is legitimate news and what isn’t,” said Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel for NetChoice. “The bill ignores the reality that Americans have more information about local issues than ever before thanks to the internet.”
“Laws making newspapers dependent on the good will of the government undermine the independence, integrity, and public trust of journalists,” continued Szabo. “Making billion dollar newsrooms more rich and powerful doesn’t save local news, it gives the centuries’ old monoliths more power to dictate what ‘real journalism’ is.”
Check out our 2021 testimony on digital competition in media here.