WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers reintroduced a invoice to permit information organizations to hitch collectively to barter advert charges with tech giants comparable to Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google.
The measure would permit information broadcasters and publishers with fewer than 1,500 full-time employees to collectively negotiate advert charges — lots of which face monetary struggles. One of many largest of the businesses putting on-line adverts for advertisers is Google.
Information organizations have complained for years they don’t seem to be sufficiently compensated for readers that their content material attracts.
The invoice was additionally launched within the final Congress however didn’t develop into regulation.
The invoice was launched by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, together with Senator John Kennedy, a Republican.
The Information/Media Alliance, a media commerce affiliation, praised the invoice it says will shield and maintain native journalism. “Rising applied sciences comparable to AI are making it much more clear the necessity for compensation when content material creators might quickly see even much less return than what they obtain at the moment,” the group stated.
Google didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for touch upon the proposal.
Beforehand, Google stated that its advert income and licensing charges offers wanted income to information organizations, and that its search engine sends readers to publishers’ web sites billions of occasions per thirty days.
Whereas in December, Fb dad or mum Meta Platforms (META.O) threatened to take away information if Congress had accepted the journalism competitors measure.
Different co-sponsors embody Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, Joe Manchin and Cory Booker together with Republican Senators Steve Daines, Invoice Cassidy, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, Cynthia Lummis, and Roger Wicker.
Reporting by Diane Bartz; further reporting by David Shepardson; Enhancing by Aurora Ellis
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