US Congressman Resubmitting Bill To Allow Media To Negotiate Advertising Tariffs With Tech Companies

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee. (photo: twitter @SenAmyKlobuchar)

JAKARTA - A bipartisan group in the United States has reintroduced a law that would allow news organizations to join and negotiate advertising rates with tech companies such as Alphabet Inc's Google.

This action will allow broadcasters and news publishers who have fewer than 1,500 full-time employees to jointly negotiate on advertising rates - many of them experiencing financial difficulties. One of the largest companies to install online ads for advertisers is Google.

News organizations have complained for years that they are not paid enough for readers who withdraw their content. The draft law has also been introduced to the previous Congress but has not succeeded in being a law.

The law was introduced by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, along with Senator John Kennedy, a Republican.

The News/Media Alliance, a media trading association, praised the law as they said it would protect and safeguard local journalism. "Evolved technology such as AI makes clear the need for compensation when content creators may see fewer returns than they received today," the group said.

Google has not yet responded to this proposal. Previously, Google said that its advertising revenue and licensing costs provide the income needed for news organizations, and that its search engine sends readers to publisher websites billions of times every month.

Meanwhile, in December, Facebook's parent Meta Platform threatened to remove the news if Congress approved acts of journalism competition.

Other sponsors include Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Marijuana Whitehouse, Joe Manchin, and Cory Booker along with Republican Senators Steve Daines, Bill Cassidy, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, Cynthia Lummis, and Roger Wicker.