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Consumer Reports signs joint letter raising concerns over the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act

Consumer Reports joined 20 other organizations in a letter urging Senate Judiciary Committee leaders, and other members of Congress to reconsider the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act” (JCPA).

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Dear Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley, Senator Klobuchar, and Senator Lee, We write today to express our ongoing concerns with the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA), an act that would create an ill-advised antitrust exemption for publishers and broadcasters. The bill remains enormously problematic for reasons we outline below.

The signatories to this letter represent a broad cross-section of organizations focused on protecting and advancing our democracy and its democratic values. We include civil society organizations; librarians and archivists; creators; technology companies; experts in antitrust, copyright, constitutional and digital rights law; and media and news groups. While we represent a broad range of policy positions, we join in the view that this legislation should not be passed. We are well aware that local news (newspapers, in particular) is in crisis.

Many of the organizations whose names appear below have passionately advocated for public policy solutions to ensure citizens have the quality information they need to engage in civic life and the political process. However, the JCPA will compound some of the biggest issues in our information landscape and do little to enable the most promising new models to improve it.

Read the full letter here.