The worst ideas in Congress never die; they just get sneaked into unrelated bills. This week, that means lawmakers are reportedly trying to burrow a bad media protectionism bill into defense spending authorization. It's called the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), and it's a doozy of bad incentives and state favoritism.
In short, the JCPA would suspend antitrust rules for "publishers of online content" so they could "collectively negotiate with dominant online platforms regarding the terms on which content may be distributed." The latest version states that "digital journalism provider(s)" can engage in joint negotiations with large tech platforms "regarding the pricing, terms, and conditions by which the covered platform may access the content of the eligible digital journalism providers that are members of the joint negotiation entity." It also sets up rules for these negotiations and mechanisms for enforcing their terms.
