Journalism Competition and Preservation Act of 2022 - S.1094

Summary

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) was designed to allow digital news providers and certain broadcasters to collectively negotiate with social media companies, primarily Google and Meta, for the use of news providers’ content on their platforms. The revised version of this bill, which was initially introduced in the House in 2021, included a requirement that all joint negotiating entities (JNEs) have fewer than 1,500 full-time staff to qualify for negotiations, effectively excluding the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.

Although the JCPA passed out of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights in Sept. 2022, it died in the Senate after its provisions were ultimately excluded from the National Defense Authorization Act at the end of the fiscal year. The decision was widely seen as a response to Meta’s announcement the previous day that it would consider removing news from its platform were the JCPA to pass, mirroring threats over similar legislation in Australia over its News Media Bargaining Code and Canada for its Online News Act.

Updates

November 28, 2022. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders.

September 22, 2022. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably by the Committee on the Judiciary.

February 2, 2022. Hearings held by the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights.