The Bill That Big Tech Hates

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Posted: Sep 27, 2022 12:01 AM

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Politics is more polarized than ever, but on the rarest of occasions, we can still set our differences aside and get things done in Washington.That’s what happened last week. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee took a major step toward curbing the power of the Big Tech monopolies. By voting to advance the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), a bipartisan majority on the committee voted to allow small publishers an antitrust exemption to negotiate with Google and Facebook and force the tech platforms to compensate them for the valuable news content the publishers produce.  Now the JCPA awaits a vote in the Senate. It needs 60 votes – a filibuster-proof majority – to pass.For years, Big Tech has appropriated content from small and local publishers, making a mint on the value of the content and sharing very little, if any at all, with those who produced it and own it. It hasn’t been without consequence. As a result, thousands of local newspapers have been put out of business, leaving an ever-increasing number of communities with no local news coverage whatsoever.Senator Ted Cruz (R‑Tx.) deserves credit for improving the bill by adding an amendment to further protec …