Ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup of the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (S. 673), Re:Create released the following statement:

“The JCPA attacks foundational First Amendment protections to free speech and free press while simultaneously rewarding extremist media, disincentivizing journalist jobs and upending copyright law,” said Re:Create Executive Director Joshua Lamel. “The Senate Judiciary Committee should reject this legislation and look at proposals that would actually support local journalism, without the JCPA’s many pitfalls. A vote for the JCPA is a vote to enrich big media corporations at the expense of local journalists, a vote to incite and reward online misinformation, and a vote to overhaul how consumers access information.”

The legislation:

• Establishes a new, unconstitutional “access right” to links and snippets and allows media companies to form cartels to force online services to pay for and carry this content.
• Defines “news publishers” so that almost any outlet, broadcast station or blog can join or form one of these groups. This includes extremist, gossip, fashion, entertainment and sports news or blogs supported by a non-profit along with massive media corporations backed by hedge funds and investment firms.
• Will chill investments in journalism and jobs for reporters by capping a publisher’s eligibility for tech payouts at 1,500 full-time employees.
• Gives media companies control over the flow of information online and structures negotiation and arbitration discussions so they do not reflect the value that online services provide to consumers or media companies.
• Will make it harder for platforms to moderate harmful content or to make updates to the services that are more useful for consumers, under the non-discrimination and retaliation requirements.