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US: Ohio AG voices support for newspaper bill

By  |  April 14, 2019

Newspapers are fundamental to the functioning of American democracy and they’re under threat like never before, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Friday.

That’s why he’s calling on Ohio’s congressional delegation to support a bill that would grant the industry “temporary cartel” status to negotiate rates with massive social media platforms that now are using newspaper content for free.

“In the marketplace of ideas, big tech is going behind the counter and taking the product off the shelf and walking out the door without paying for it,” Yost said.

The proposal is sponsored by US House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Dave Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, and House Judiciary Committee ranking member Doug Collins, R-Georgia. It would create a four-year window for newspapers to combine for the purpose of negotiating rates to change the tech giants to use newspaper content.

Full Content: Ohio News

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