The JCPA, or “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act Of 2021,” is a looming disaster for the right to share online. If you think Big Media is bad now, just wait—the JCPA creates a monopolistic pipeline to put Facebook money into Fox News’s and CNN's hands and limit who can share news online.

The JCPA speeds up the decline of journalism, while pretending to do the opposite. If passed, online platforms would have to pay big news organizations for linking to them or using their content. Big Media is spending a lot of money to lobby for this bill. They know how powerful an exclusive back door into massive profits and inside information from Facebook would be.

This law as-written could lead to the end of fair use of news content online—it could even make posting a link to a news story a copyright violation. Fair use is what lets John Oliver mock Tucker Carlson using footage from Fox News, what lets civil rights organizations criticize racist news stories, and what lets you make a meme of a news reporter getting attacked by a seagull. The JCPA could undermine fair use by making users or platforms pay for a license before they even can quote a headline.

The JCPA leaves independent news out in the cold, creating a closed system where only massive corps can negotiate. Under the JCPA, organizations like News Corp can become a BIGGER monopoly with a special antitrust exemption. Adding insult to injury, the Act's fantasyland nondiscrimination clause completely discounts how negotiations work—especially the power the biggest news outlets hold. Media coverage of the JCPA so far is pure lobbyist talking points from the same news orgs that stand to benefit from the bill.

We need to kill this bill, but it’s going to be an uphill battle to protect against collusion between Big Tech and Big Media. Your representatives are definitely hearing from lobbyists on this bill, it’s time for them to hear from you. Call on your lawmakers to reject the JCPA.

PETITION TEXT

Dear representative,

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act Of 2021 (JCPA) is a threat to the free and open nature of the Internet. Sponsors of the JCPA argue that it will help fight disinformation online and promote better journalism. Unfortunately, the bill is engineered to do just the opposite. The JCPA will hurt free speech online and entrench existing power relationships between dominant online platforms and news media companies, while doing little to support local independent journalism that is critical to a healthy public information system.

As-written, the JCPA could lead to the end of fair use of news content online; it could even make posting a link to a news story a copyright violation. By potentially making users or platforms pay for a license before they even can quote a headline, the Act may end up undermining fair use. Although it does not impose a per link fee, it is a link tax that gives the most powerful and wealthy actors in journalism the advantage on online platforms.

Further, through a special antitrust exemption, the legislation enables even greater collusion between Big Tech and Big Media and its nondiscrimination clause fails to recognize how the powerful influence of big news outlets affects negotiations. Because of this, the JCPA would primarily benefit dominant online platforms and partisan news giants, hurting small outlets who are unlikely to be meaningfully included in negotiations.

I urge you to protect journalistic integrity and oppose the JCPA when it is put to a vote.