Senate panel sends Journalism Preservation Act to the floor; House committee could act on similar bill next week

A Senate committee approved legislation Thursday to allow smaller news publishers to negotiate with digital platforms for compensation for use of their content, after adding a Republican amendment to exclude content moderation from the negotiations.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the proposed Journalism Competition and Preservation Act 15-7 after adding an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas that limits the exemption to talks conducted  “solely to reach an agreement regarding the pricing, terms and conditions” for content usage. Cruz and other Republicans have alleged that content moderation disfavors conservatives.

Cruz said his amendment makes the bill “the first meaningful consequence for and protection against censorship based on viewpoint and content in the big tech space. . . . Big Tech hates this bill. That to me is a strong positive for supporting it.” The committee's top Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, voted for the bill, but most other GOP senators on the panel voted against it.

The vote came after two weeks of negotiations between Cruz and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who said during the vote, “Platforms like Facebook and Google are counting on Republicans and Democrats being unable to put aside their differences to agree on meaningful legislation in the tech sector. This is our moment to prove them wrong.”

Opposition came from both ends of the political spectrum, The Wall Street Journal notes: "Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah) reiterated his fear that the bill could make publishers more dependent on big tech platforms. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said the bill didn’t guarantee that working journalists would benefit and argued that some of its protections for news outlets could actually exacerbate problems of hate speech on the internet. Some of those concerns were echoed by tech and public-interest groups, who said the legislation could benefit right-wing media organizations."

Opponents of the bill include Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers. The bill applies to "most newsrooms that employ fewer than 1,500 full-time employees," The Hill reports. "The employee cap is largely aimed at excluding the country’s three largest newspapers and national broadcasters." The News Media Alliance called on key House members “to bring the bill before the House Judiciary Committee for a vote next week, likely the last opportunity to move the JCPA out of committee before the midterm elections.” The National Newspaper Association thanked the NMA "for its perseverance in working out objections to the bill," it said in a news release.