TPA Slams Senate Judiciary Committee Markup of JCPA
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
June 15, 2023
For Immediate Release Contact: Abigail Graham: (202) 417-7235
June 15, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a markup of S. 1094, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA). This bill is yet another example of the federal government’s move to achieve political outcomes through manipulating antitrust law. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is disappointed to see the Senate Judiciary Committee advance this bill and urges Senators to reconsider the harms this legislation would bring to consumers.
In response, TPA Executive Director Patrick Hedger, provided the following comment:
“The advancement of JCPA is concerning, on a number of levels. Sober estimates show it will cost American tech companies nearly $2 billion, merely to allow link sharing. This is a backdoor tax on some of the most innovative companies in the world. Far from expanding access to news, this penalizes companies for allowing the free flow of information.
“Further, this bill would give the federal government the power to decide what news sources are legitimate and which are not. This will invariably lead to political retribution and the subjective picking of winners and losers in the media by public officials, the antithesis of everything the First Amendment represents.
“TPA applauds and thanks Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) who voted against advancing this bill. TPA encourages the senators who voted for the bill to reconsider and urges the full Senate to reject moving forward with this ill-advised legislation.”
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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.