Bipartisan Group of Senators Call on USTR to Not Include Section 230 in U.S.-UK Agreement
On December 18, a bipartisan group of Senators sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, requesting that the administration not include broad online liability protections in the potential U.S.-UK trade agreement. The letter, signed by Senators Mark Warner ... Read More
Local News Included in Proposed Payroll Assistance
On December 20, Congress expanded government loan forgiveness to local news outlets in the proposed COVID relief bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a joint statement praising these “key modifications to PPP” that expand ... Read More
38 States File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
On December 17, a bipartisan coalition of 38 states filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging Google used its market power to thwart competition. The lawsuit alleges that Google leveraged its market power ... Read More
10 States File Digital Advertising Lawsuit Against Google
On December 16, 10 states filed a complaint in the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Sherman division alleging that Google illegally monopolized products and services that publishers used to advertise. The complaint further alleges that Google’s anticompetitive ... Read More
FTC Sues Facebook for Anti-Competitive Behavior
On December 9, the FTC announced that it will sue Facebook for violating antitrust law along with 46 states' attorneys general. The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that “Facebook has engaged in a ... Read More
Australian Government Introduces Legislation Establishing Mandatory Code of Conduct for Online Platforms
On December 9, the Australian government published its proposed legislation to create an enforceable code to require online platforms to pay news publishers for their content. The law will codify the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) draft code released ... Read More
Google Giving Access to Paywalled Content
On December 2, Google announced that it would start giving consumers access to paywalled content. Google will pay participating publishers for Google News Showcase users’ access to paywalled content. Google News Showcase launched two months ago in limited countries and Google ... Read More
Facebook to Pay Some UK Publishers
On November 30, Facebook announced it would pay some UK publishers for their content. Facebook will hire contractors to select the main stories of the day from mainstream outlets to appear in its News Tab. Facebook has not said how much ... Read More
House of Lords Calls on UK Government to Ensure a Sustainable Future for Journalism
On November 27, the Select Committee on Communications and Digital of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom published a report titled “Breaking News? The Future of UK Journalism.” The comprehensive report outlines the UK news media landscape before ... Read More
UK Government to Develop a Code of Conduct and Establish a Digital Markets Unit to Regulate Online Platforms
On November 27, the UK Government released its responses to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) study on online platforms and digital advertising, published in July 2020. In its response, the Government accepted the CMA’s findings and recommendations and committed ... Read More
Google Compensating Some French Publishers
On November 19, Google entered into a copyright agreement with six French publishers to compensate them for their content. The agreement comes after a court ordered Google to begin negotiations with French publishers to pay them for the use of ... Read More
FCC Nominee Grilled on Section 230
On November 10, Nathan Simington, Trump’s nominee to replace FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, was questioned by Senators at a nominations hearing. Nathan Simington is a Senior Adviser at the National Telecommunications and Information Association, which petitioned the FCC for rulemaking ... Read More
