The clock is ticking on the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.
With the midterm elections coming up on Nov. 8, the lame-duck session could be the last realistic chance for Congress to pass this bipartisan effort to make Google and Facebook pay for local news content on their platforms.
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, a lead sponsor of the measure, believes the legislation is likely to win approval in a matter of weeks, he said in an interview. “The lame-duck session is the perfect time to pass this bill,” he said. “I suspect we will do a Judiciary Committee markup soon and I think there is strong bipartisan support. There is no reason we can’t pass it in this session.”
Read the complete Q&A with Rep. David Cicilline
His optimism comes at a challenging time for government efforts to support local news. The JCPA, as it’s known, would create an antitrust exemption enabling news organizations to bargain collectively for payment from companies distributing their content online.
