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On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee heard a number of media and media activists talk about the damaging impact of tech giants such as Google and Facebook on news agencies, news content, and news stories. News and advertisers online.
Some media outlets and groups of journalists blame the major technologies for jeopardizing the economic survival of the sector by publishing information on their platforms without paying for it and constantly changing the algorithms.
"It's important to fight against consolidated power," said Gene Kimmelan, chairman of Public Knowledge, an open internet rights advocacy group, "particularly with regard to the marketplace of ideas."
The US user of Middle FACEBOOK spent 38 minutes a day on the platform, down from 2017, but an increase in the use of Instantgram
Tuesday's hearing took place as the House Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into the practices of Facebook and Google, while the two giants of Silicon Valley had a monopoly.
"A free and diverse press is the backbone of our democracy," David Cicilline, D-REI, Chairman of the Antitrust Subcommittee, said in an opening statement. "In the past decade, the media has experienced an economic free fall."
Cicilline then blamed algorithm changes and the consolidation of online ads on Google and Facebook as leading examples of declining local newspapers and reducing the size of newsrooms across the country.
"Whether it's local newspapers or online journalists, we can not have a vibrant democracy without a strong and independent press," he said.
According to a study conducted by the University of North Carolina, about 20% of all US metropolitan and community newspapers – about 1,800 – have ceased operations or merged since 2004, at which time approximately 9,000 people died. 39, between them had been published. The study also found that of the country's 3,143 counties, more than 2,000 have no daily diaries.
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During Tuesday's hearing, David Pitofsky, General Counsel for News Corp, said: "The news market is broken." Silicon Valley "rejects us as old media."
"We are not losing customers to anyone else – we are losing customers because a dominant platform is rolling out our news content, … is turning around and selling that content to people. advertisers we are trying to broadcast. "
Cicillin promised that the group of experts will conduct a thorough investigation of the digital market and "dominance of major technology platforms", in the perspective of legislative action to increase competition.
Richard Gringas, vice president of Google's NNews, said his company "has been working for many years to be a collaborative and supportive technology and advertising partner for the information industry."
"Each month, Google News and Google Search generate more than 10 billion clicks to publishers' websites, which generate huge subscriptions and advertising revenue," he said in a statement.
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In a capitol impregnated with partisanship, inflamed by the report of special advocate Robert Mueller and the intensification of President Trump's research by Democrats, the inquiry of the House Judiciary Committee on the power of the Technology market stands out. Not only is it bipartite, but it is also the first such review done by the Congress of a sector that, for more than 10 years, has had a slight influence from regulatory authorities federal.
While the tutelary authorities of the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are apparently conducting antitrust investigations on Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon, as well as several state attorneys general exploring their own bipartite action, the technology sector is at the forefront. middle of a precarious moment.
Left and right politicians have different grievances about technology giants. Some complain of aggressive driving that crushes competition. Others perceive political bias or tolerance of extremist content. Still others are unhappy with the collection of personal data by the industry.
At a press conference before Tuesday's hearing, California Democratic Representative Mark DeSaulnier joined forces with journalists to applaud the antitrust oversight of major technology.
"I think there is nothing more important at the moment than the way Americans get information," DeSaulnier said. "We are about to take huge risks before the next election cycle and it is important to do it right."
DeSaulnier is the main Democrat of the 2019 Law on Competition and Preservation of Journalism, recently introduced by Cicilline and Georgia Republican Republican Doug Collins. The law would allow local media to collectively bargain with large online platforms such as Facebook and Google.
"I would like to participate in the restoration of journalism as a sacred part of American democracy," DeSaulnier said at Tuesday's press conference.
Several Democratic presidential candidates think they have the solution: dissolve companies for antitrust reasons. Cicillin called this "a last resort", but the idea is with the two main political parties, including the White House.
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Trump has taken note of the huge fines imposed by European regulators on the biggest tech companies.
"We will look at them differently," he said Monday during an interview with CNBC. "We should do what (the Europeans) do," said Trump. "Obviously, something is happening in terms of monopoly."
Silicon Valley leaders declined to comment on antitrust investigations. Google said that the control of lawmakers and regulators "often improves our products and the rules that govern them", and that in some areas, such as data protection, laws need to be updated.
Facebook executives have widely demanded regulation while explicitly rejecting the idea of breaking "a successful American business". CEO Mark Zuckerberg called for new rules in four areas: harmful content, electoral integrity, privacy and data portability.
Hillary Vaughn of Fox News, James Rogers and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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