When the U.S. Most Needs Journalism, Congress (Kind of) Illuminates Media Problems
Buried in the House Antitrust Subcommittee’s Big Report on Big Tech lies more messaging than remedies to help news publishers
by Ray Garcia
The 16-month House Antitrust Subcommittee probe into big-footing by the tech titans produced a 450-page report that involved nearly 1.3 million internal documents, 30 witness testimonies, and submissions from more than 40 antitrust experts on the anticompetitive business models and practices of Big Tech — but not a single fresh solution to easing the dire straits facing the Fourth Estate.
In the long-awaited report, the congressional body sought to answer a major question: whether Facebook and Google, despite their philanthropic attempts to revitalize the industry, undermine and manipulate news publishers — essentially weakening journalistic institutions.
The news industry, waning for nearly 30 years, in the past decade and a half has experienced a 47 percent decline in newsroom employment and a dramatic 62 percent decline in advertising revenue. The monopolistic dominance of Facebook and Google are largely blamed for the precipitous fall.
COVID-19’s descent led to closure of restaurants and theaters, decline in car sales and few stores open at malls; without such advertisers, countless publications shut down, and more than 36,000 journalists lost jobs or were furloughed. With the news industry in grave health, journalists and policy advocates decried existing antitrust legislation and called for congressional intervention in hopes of preserving news organizations harmed by the tech platforms which, since their rise, capture the lion’s share of advertising.
“The reason this investigation is so important to the future of the country,” explained Rep. David N. Cicilline (RI-01), chair of the antitrust subcommittee, during a hearing on Oct. 1, “is because this country has a history of this battle between concentrated economic power, monopolies and democracy… It’s incumbent on the Congress of the United States to make sure our economy works and that we safeguard our democracy.”
Beyond addressing the anticompetitive practices of these modern-day robber barons, the report reaffirmed the importance of a free and diverse press as a key component of a thriving democracy. And yet, the findings revealed a “significant and growing asymmetry of power” between news organizations and dominant tech firms. The platforms, the report says, have massive influence and power over the distribution of “trustworthy” news sources, often serving as the intermediaries, or gatekeepers, to online news.
Facebook and Google, with their data and algorithmic savvy, mine a person’s data to deliver ads with an efficiency the media industry hasn’t learned to match. For news sites that rely on these platforms for content distribution, this poses a significant problem to their audience base and ad revenue streams; the pandemic exacerbated the problem.
At the Antitrust Subcommittee’s hearing on the free and diverse press, Sally Hubbard, director of enforcement strategy at the Open Markets Institute, testified that Big Tech’s unyielding grip on online competition has weakened — if not outright restricted — the bargaining power of news publishers.
With no alternatives, publishers are forced to accommodate and adapt to the whims of Big Tech.
“Facebook and Google compete against news publishers for user attention, data and ad dollars. They’ve been controlling the game and playing it, too,” Hubbard said. “Publishers never had a fair shot… The platforms can cut them off with a simple tweak of their algorithms.”
To ensure the survival of the Fourth Estate, the existing antitrust statutes must be reformed, and interpretation of such laws refined.
Zephyr Teachout, an associate professor at Fordham University School of Law and a witness at the Oct. 1 hearing, discussed how the Supreme Court acts as the primary institution for interpreting and defining the scope of antitrust legislation. But Congress has a role, too, she says, when federal laws are misinterpreted by the courts.
“Nobody doubts that labor law is your job, that tax law is your job, that campaign finance law is your job,” Teachout said to the House Subcommittee. “Antitrust and anti-monopoly law is about the country sharing its vision of what a moral, fair and thriving economy looks like. There is nothing more congressional than antitrust law.”
With the release of the investigation report, the House Subcommittee reviewed the varying proposals and offered recommendations to Congress. Some include structural separation, the establishment of nondiscrimination rules, and the passing of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.
If passed, the act would encourage negotiations between news publishers and platforms to foster sustainable and equitable conditions. With so many journalists losing their jobs and publications shuttering, action must be taken — and fast. From big picture to footnotes, this report illuminates the need for immediate action to allow democracy to flourish in a society held accountable by a Fourth Estate.
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