Klobuchar Seeks Senate Judiciary Markup of Journalism Bill

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., seeks Senate Judiciary Committee markup for her bill letting small news outlets negotiate revenue-sharing with online platforms (see 2103100058). She told us after Thursday’s subcommittee hearing that she spoke about the possibility with Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who sponsored the bill last year.

“We need to move quickly,” Klobuchar said. “This is one of those bills that could help immediately.” She noted Australia brought the issue “to a head.” Australia is debating a proposal that would require platforms to share revenue with local, independent news organizations (see 2102110070).

Durbin didn’t address the possibility of a markup, telling us he will defer to Klobuchar on antitrust issues generally. He will wait for her guidance on future antitrust hearings, saying it would be interesting to bring in Big Tech representatives. “When she thinks it’s appropriate, I’m more than happy to accommodate her with a full committee hearing,” he said.

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act has support from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., House Antitrust Subcommittee leaders David Cicilline, D-R.I., and Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif. Klobuchar noted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., endorsed the bill last year.

Another Republican showed interest at the subcommittee hearing when Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee likened Big Tech to China stealing intellectual property from Americans. “What Google and Facebook are doing is taking the content, monetizing it, but they don’t pay the reporters,” Blackburn told us. Asked how close she is to sponsoring the legislation, she said, “I am going to continue working on filling that gap.”

“We wouldn’t need it if” the U.S. updated and enforced its anti-monopoly laws, Klobuchar said of the bill. Passing comprehensive legislation, which can be broken into segments, is the ultimate goal, she said: “We’re not really taking on the big thing in making it easier to bring cases against monopolies, making it easier to go after exclusionary conduct.”

All five witnesses supported providing antitrust enforcers with greater resources. Jan Rybnicek at Freshfields Bruckhaus supported legislation from Antitrust ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah. Lee’s One Agency Act (see 2011190061) would fold all antitrust enforcement into DOJ. The bill could eliminate a lot of friction and inefficiencies between agencies, said Rybnicek.

Having separate enforcement with the FTC and an appointed commission means antitrust issues get more exposure, informing enforcers and the public, said Consumer Reports Senior Policy Counsel George Slover.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questioned the wisdom of allowing major tech companies to dominate multiple markets at once, citing Google and Amazon. He asked if antitrust law should be updated so that massive conglomerates across industries can no longer provide services while also selling products that compete with rivals. Such legislation is “necessary,” said Open Markets Institute Executive Director Barry Lynn. That Amazon is able to operate a retail marketplace while also selling goods and competing with merchants when it has data on those third parties is anti-competitive and pro-monopoly, said Lynn.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sought support for his Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act (see 2102250059), which would mean new platform interoperability requirements. The legislation is potentially pro-consumer, but raises security issues that Congress should consider, said Committee for Justice Public Policy Director Ashley Baker.

Antitrust law and its deterrence are no longer working as they should, and agencies have scarce resources, said Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor Nancy Rose. There’s concentration everywhere, said Klobuchar, from the cat food industry to online travel. “It’s true there’s room for common ground on antitrust,” said Durbin of recent comments from Senate Judiciary ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “So there’s agreement on that basic premise. Whether there’s agreement on policy, I’m going to leave it to Sen. Klobuchar.”