Over 200 Newspapers Quietly Sue Big Tech

DannyB writes:

Over 200 papers quietly sue Big Tech:

Newspapers all over the country have been quietly filing antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook for the past year, alleging the two firms monopolized the digital ad market for revenue that would otherwise go to local news.

Why it matters: What started as a small-town effort to take a stand against Big Tech has turned into a national movement, with over 200 newspapers involved across dozens of states.

[...] The goal of the litigation is "to recover past damages to newspapers" caused by Big Tech companies, says Clayton Fitzsimmons, one of the lawyers representing the newspapers.

• The other is to "establish a new system going forward in which newspapers aren't just competitive again, but can thrive," he said, referencing laws like Australia's that force tech firms to pay publishers for their content.

• [...] If the lawsuits are successful, the papers could be entitled to "treble damages

• [...] Lawmakers have expressed keen interest in understanding how Google and Facebook's dominance affects the newspapers industry.
• The Justice Department, along with several state attorneys general, sued Google for violating antitrust laws. Facebook is facing a similar antitrust lawsuit from state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission.

In the future we may have to Bing the local news.

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