Washington – The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on whether some news media outlets should be exempt from antitrust rules. The Computer & Communications Industry Association agrees on the importance of a thriving news media in a democracy. CCIA filed a statement for the record ahead of the hearing, cautioning the committee on this approach that is likely to benefit bigger news outlets over smaller ones, but still not address the real problems.
In a Medium post, CCIA President Matt Schruers said that “Policymakers will not solve news publishers’ challenges by trying to insulate them from each new wave of competing media through cartelization, even if this idea has found favor in France and Australia.”
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Schruers, who has testified on this issue before the House Judiciary Committee”
“It’s no surprise that the largest proponents of this legislation read like a Who’s Who list of the largest publishers and broadcasters. If Congress allows news media outlets to become cartels, small publishers and consumers would be the first victims.
“Antitrust law did not cause the challenges the news media is now facing with digital ads and it won’t fix the problem either.”
The following statement can be attributed to CCIA Vice President of Public Policy Arthur Sidney:
“Congress should examine ways to make the newspaper industry more competitive. Doling out antitrust trust exemptions to select industries is not a panacea to this industry’s woes. News Corp, one of Australia’s largest media conglomerates, was behind this legislation in Australia. It’s strange how policymakers want to give out these benefits to certain industries – picking winners and losers – but not others. Policymakers should be wary of giving big newspaper publishers an opportunity to get even bigger.”