Friday, March 12, 2021
The U.S. House of Representatives is discussing tech giants and the media today, and Microsoft's Brad Smith is among those testifying.
What you need to know
- Microsoft's President Brad Smith is testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives today.
- The hearing surrounds the role of tech giants and the media industry.
- Brad Smith has been a vocal supporter of Australia's recent media laws and has called on America to adopt a similar set of laws.
Microsoft's President Brad Smith is testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives today. The hearing centers around the relationship between tech giants and media outlets.
Smith and Microsoft have been vocal supporters of recent media laws passed in Australia and have called for similar laws in the U.S.
You can watch the testimony live on Periscope. CNN's Brian Fung is also tweeting about the event as it occurs.
Microsoft's Brad Smith testifying now before the House: "The news in America today is not alive and well."
— Brian Fung (@b_fung) March 12, 2021
Smith tells lawmakers: "I think you all are on the right path. That's why Microsoft is endorsing the Journalism Competition and Protection Act, to give news organizations the ability to negotiate collectively -- including with Microsoft."
— Brian Fung (@b_fung) March 12, 2021
In what is likely not a coincidence, Google's Kent Walker wrote a scathing piece on Microsoft today in regards to media laws. In the piece, Walker claims that Microsoft is trying to distract people from the SolarWinds attack. Walker also says that Microsoft's claims about how Google works with news publishers are wrong.
Smith previously said the following:
The cure will likely require multiple medicines. However, part of an innovative prescription has emerged from halfway around the world. In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pushed forward with legislation two years in the making to redress the competitive imbalance between the tech sector and an independent press. The ideas are straightforward. Dominant tech properties like Facebook and Google will need to invest in transparency, including by explaining how they display news content.
Even more important, the legislation will redress the economic imbalance between technology and journalism by mandating negotiations between these tech gatekeepers and independent news organizations. The goal is to provide the news organizations with compensation for the benefit derived by tech gatekeepers from the inclusion of news content on their platforms.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
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