U.K. Competition Regulator Releases Interim Report on Digital Marketing Study
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is conducting a study on whether Google and Facebook’s market power has stifled competition in the digital market. CMA’s interim report supports the finding that the duopoly dominates the digital advertising market, depriving ... Read More
Australia’s Government Requires Negotiations Between Platforms and News Publishers
The Australian government will implement several of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) recommendations to increase competition and mitigate digital platforms’ market power, giving news media companies a chance to address the power imbalance. Notably, the Australian government will ... Read More
Senators Rand Paul and Cory Booker Co-Sponsor Safe Harbor Bill
This week, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced their co-sponsorship of the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act” (JCPA), known as the Safe Harbor Bill. The JCPA was introduced in the Senate (S. 1700) in June, while a ... Read More
Congress Fails to Remove Section 230 Language from the USMCA
Following reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had requested the removal of broad immunities for online platforms from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Speaker noted on December 10 that the protections would not be removed from the agreement ... Read More
Alliance Submits Comments on Proposed CCPA Regulations with the California Attorney General
On December 6, the News Media Alliance submitted comments with the California Attorney General on the AG’s proposed rules to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that will go into effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA will limit ... Read More
French News Outlets Launch Official Complaint Against Google’s Refusal to License Content
On November 20, a group of French media companies filed an official complaint with the country’s competition regulator over Google’s refusal to pay for rights to display news content. The complaint comes months after France became the first country to ... Read More
Google News Shutdown Not Such a Bad Thing in Spain: Many Publishers Witnessed Increased Traffic to News Sites
On Nov. 14, the News Media Alliance published an analysis on the impact to Spanish news publishers of the closure of Google News in Spain in 2014. Opponents of the European Union’s recently-adopted Publishers’ Right have used Spain’s experience with ... Read More
States’ Attorneys General Expand Investigation Into Google’s Anti-Competitive Behaviors
A number of Attorneys General are expanding their antitrust investigation of Google to include the company’s search practices and their Android operations, according to reports. The investigation, which includes 50 Attorneys General representing 48 states, the District of Columbia, and ... Read More
California AG Sues Facebook for Failure to Cooperate In Privacy Investigation
On November 6, California’s Attorney General announced that he had opened an investigation into Facebook’s privacy practices, but that the platform had not been cooperating with his office in the investigation. The AG filed a lawsuit against Facebook for documents ... Read More
Senators Introduce Bill to Increase Online Transparency and Prevent Filter Bubbles
On November 1, five senators — John Thune (R-SD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Mark Warner (D-VA) — introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act. The bill would require that online companies that collect data from ... Read More
Facebook Launches Facebook News in the United States
On October 25, Facebook introduced Facebook News to some users in the United States. The News Tab will offer a new way for users to access news content on the platform, allowing users to control and personalize the news they ... Read More
Facebook to Launch News Tab on Friday, October 25
On October 23, Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated during a congressional hearing that the company would be launching its News Tab later in the week. The company spokesperson later confirmed that the new initiative to support high-quality journalism ... Read More
The Alliance Commends the Passage of the CASE Act in the House
The News Media Alliance commends the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 2426, the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019” (CASE Act) on October 22. The House adopted the bill by an overwhelming vote of 410-6. The CASE ... Read More
Congress Continues Its Hearings on Dominant Online Platforms
On Oct. 18, the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law held its third hearing on dominant online platforms titled, “Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 3: The Role of Data and Privacy in Competition.” The witnesses included FTC ... Read More
Congress Holds a Hearing on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
On October 16, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a hearing titled “Fostering a Healthier Internet to Protect Consumers.” The hearing focused on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act ... Read More
In Lieu of Newspapers, Starbucks Begins Offering Free Digital News Access
Starbucks announced on October 1 that, in lieu of selling print newspapers in their stores, they will instead offer free digital access to several news sources for a limited time. The News Media Alliance worked with the company to help ... Read More
Facebook Settles a Lawsuit by Advertisers Alleging Inflated Video Viewing Data
On October 4, Facebook and a group of advertisers who purchased video ads on Facebook’s platforms filed a proposed class action settlement resolving a case that has been in litigation since 2016. The case concerns Facebook’s alleged overstating of average ... Read More
Google Refusing to Pay Publishers in France following the Implementation of the EU Copyright Directive
Google has opted out of paying publishers in France for news results in Google Search, an executive announced on September 25. France, which is the first country to implement Article 15 of the new European Union Copyright Directive nationally, had ... Read More
House Judiciary Begins Antitrust Investigation Into Google Parent Alphabet
The House Judiciary Committee on September 13 informed Alphabet CEO Larry Page that the company was under investigation regarding competition in digital markets. Page, whose company is the parent of Google and YouTube, among others, was asked to provide a ... Read More
News Media Alliance Requests Germany to Extend the EU Publishers’ Right to Non-EU Publishers during Implementation
On September 6, the News Media Alliance joined four other news media organizations to request the German Government to extend the protections created by Article 15 of the newly approved EU Copyright Directive to non-EU publishers. Article 15 of the ... Read More
