Tech platforms such as Google and Facebook are using "unfair business practices" against local news outlets, according to a new report by members of the Senate Commerce Committee, Fox Business reported on Tuesday.
The report, released on the eve of the the committee's hearing Wednesday with the chief executives of Google, Facebook, and Twitter, argues that the tech platforms should be regulated by the Federal Trade Commission in order to protect local journalism.
The report describes a worrying state of the local American news industry, which has lost 70% of its revenue in the past two decades, while Google and Facebook currently control 77% of local digital advertisement revenue.
The report insists that the FTC needs new authority now so it can force Google and Facebook to alter their practices, since the Justice Department's current antitrust lawsuit against Google will probably take years to be resolved.
The report also argued that Google search, by using the material of local publishers without compensation, among other practices, was abusing the original intent of copyright law's notion of "fair use."
Google spokeswoman Maggie Shiels criticized the report, saying it "distorts the reality around Google's role in the online news ecosystem and the value that we provide to publishers who face challenges in transitioning to the digital world."
She pointed out the traffic Google sends to news websites, how its ad products help publishers make money, and the money it has paid to support local news.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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