,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eaij  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #g1 #bjah,mr4 
,cicilline introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to provide a temporary safe harbor for 
the publishers of online content to     
collectively negotiate with dominant    
online platforms regarding the terms on 
which their content may be distributed4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,journalism ,competition and    
,preservation ,act of #bjah4  #b4       
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,a free and vibrant press is     
essential to the health of our          
democracy4  7#b7 ,fair and competitive  
markets are integral to maintaining a   
thriving press that can meet the demands
 of consumers and an informed citizenry4
  7#c7 ,more and more ,americans prefer 
to read news online4 ,while some readers
 may go directly to a publisher's       
website1 many more find news through the

 use of one or more online platforms1   
such as search engines and social media 
websites4  7#d7 ,over the past decade1  
digital audiences for news publications 
have increased by over #bjj percent4    
,nevertheless1 over that same time      
period1 digital news publishers'        
revenues have fallen by nearly half4    
7#e7 ,in the absence of the robust      
enforcement of the antitrust laws to    
ensure a free and open marketplace of   
ideas1 some dominant platforms serve as 
a de facto gateway to all online content
 for many web users1 wielding an        
enormous amount of control over how     
readers find and interact with content  
produced by the press4  7#f7 ,dominant  
platforms often are able to dictate the 
terms on which a publisher's content may
 appear on their platform1 and some hold
 so much sway in the online ecosystem   
that they can control whether their     
users are able to find a creator's      
content at all4  7#g7 ,an entity with   
the power to dictate the terms of       

distribution of news has the power to   
dictate the content of the news4  7#h7  
,america benefits from1 and depends     
upon1 not only a free marketplace for   
goods and services1 but also a free     
marketplace of ideas4  7#i7 ,the        
antitrust laws were intended to and do  
provide both economic and civic         
benefits4  7#aj7 ,a central purpose of  
the antitrust laws is to promote and    
protect open markets1 including those   
for the free and diverse press4  7#aa7  
,while antitrust exemptions are         
generally disfavored1 should the        
application of the antitrust laws ever  
be applied in a manner that conflicts   
with their stated purpose--such as      
protecting the free and open marketplace
 of ideas online--it is the duty and    
prerogative of the ,congress to resolve 
the conflict4  #c4 ,safe harbor for     
certain collective negotiations  7a7    
,definitions ,for purposes of this      
section3 7#a7 ,the term news content    
creator means--  7,a7 any print or      

digital news organization that-- 7i7 has
 a dedicated professional editorial     
staff that creates and distributes      
original news and related content       
concerning local1 national1 or          
international matters of public interest
 on at least a weekly basis2 and  7ii7  
is commercially marketed through        
subscriptions1 advertising1 or          
sponsorship2 and  7,b7 provides original
 news and related content1 with the     
editorial content consisting of not less
 than #be percent current news and      
related content4  7#b7 ,the term ,online
 ,content ,distributor means any entity 
that-- 7,a7 operates a website or other 
online service that displays1           
distributes1 or directs users to news   
articles1 works of journalism1 or other 
content on the internet that is         
generated by third-party news content   
creators2 and  7,b7 has not fewer than  
#a1jjj1jjj1jjj monthly active users1 in 
the aggregate1 of all of its websites or
 online services worldwide4  7#c7 ,the  

term antitrust laws has the meaning     
given such term in subsection 7a7 of the
 first section of the ,clayton ,act 7#ae
 ,u4,s4,c4 #ab71 and includes--  7,a7   
section #e of the ,federal ,trade       
,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de7 to 
the extent that such section applies to 
unfair methods of competition2 and  7,b7
 any ,state law1 rule1 or regulation    
that prohibits or penalizes the conduct 
described in1 or is otherwise           
inconsistent with1 subsection 7b7 of    
this section4  7#d7 ,the term           
negotiation period means the period of  
time beginning on the date this ,act    
goes into effect and ending #dh months  
later4  7b7 ,limitation of liability ,a 
news content creator shall not be held  
liable under the antitrust laws for     
engaging in negotiations with other news
 content creators during the negotiation
 period to collectively withhold content
 from1 or negotiate with1 an ,online    
,content ,distributor regarding the     
terms on which the news content         

creators' news content may be           
distributed by the ,online ,content     
,distributor1 if--  7#a7 the            
negotiations with the ,online ,content  
,distributor-- 7,a7 are not limited to  
price and are nondiscriminatory as to   
similarly situated news content         
creators1 and directly relate to the    
quality1 accuracy1 attribution or       
branding1 and interoperability of news2 
and  7,b7 pertain to terms that would be
 available to all news content creators2
  7#b7 the coordination among the news  
content creators is directly related to 
and reasonably necessary for            
negotiations with an ,online ,content   
,distributor that are otherwise         
consistent with this ,act2 and  7#c7 the
 negotiations do not involve any person 
that is not a news content creator or an
 ,online ,content ,distributor4  7c7    
,rule of construction ,except as        
provided in this ,act1 this ,act shall  
not be construed to modify1 impair1 or  
supersede the operation of the antitrust

 laws4