Sen. Mike Lee said during a hearing that the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) would create a big media “cartel” to benefit the New York Times and the Washington Post, reported Breitbart.
Lee, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Antitrust, delivered his opening statement voicing great concern about the JCPA. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Democrat – Minnesota), the subcommittee chair, and Sen. John Kennedy (Republican – Louisiana) are leading the push on the controversial bill in the Senate.
The Utah conservative said that the “last thing” Congress should do to solve the media industry’s problems is to create a “cartel” that would ultimately benefit big media companies such as the New York Times and the Washington Post.
The legislation would create an antitrust exemption, allowing media companies to collectively bargain with big tech companies such as Google and Facebook.
He said that Congress should not grant the news media an antitrust exemption because it would not fix the many problems facing the industry; he said Americans increasingly distrust establishment outlets and many outlets failed to adapt quickly to an internet model and relied too much on digital advertising instead of subscription services.
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