WASHINGTON -- A bill in Congress takes aim at the dominance of Google and Facebook in controlling how Americans receive their news, proposing to help news companies correct an imbalance that threatens their existence.

The House bill would give publishers a temporary anti-trust exemption to negotiate for better treatment by the tech giants, ensuring that Americans receive access to trusted sources of news.

Almost three out of four people in the United States now receive their news from platforms controlled by the duopoly of Facebook and Google. The companies take in 73 percent of all digital advertising revenue in the United States, and 83 percent of the digital ad growth.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., wants to give news publishers a chance to level the playing field through his bill, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.

If approved, the legislation would allow publishers of local newspapers and websites a limited "safe harbor" from anti-trust laws to collectively negotiate with digital platforms for a bigger share of revenue.

Publishers would also seek greater transparency about the algorithms that control what news shows up on those platforms, said David Chavern, president and CEO of the News Media Alliance, a trade group of 2,000 news organizations that support the legislation.

"The platforms now control the economics of the news business largely, and this is something we need to address," Chavern said in an interview.

News organizations have seen their digital audience grow over the past decade, but revenue declined by $31 billion between 2006 and 2016 as Facebook and Google dominated the market for ad dollars, according to the Pew Research Center.

The legislation in Congress would limit the anti-trust exemption to 48 months and require any deal to benefit the public and the broader news industry, rather than a select few companies.

Cicilline, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, said his bill has the support of local and national news publications across the nation.

Among the companies that would potentially benefit is Advance Local, which operates al.com, cleveland.com, lehighvalleylive.com, MassLive.com, MLive.com, NJ.com, NOLA.com, OregonLive.com, PennLive.com, SILive.com, Syracuse.com and other local digital properties.

Cicilline's bill, H.R. 5190, has not advanced out of committee since it was introduced in March. It has one co-sponsor, Rep. Mark DeSaunier, D-Ca., and no companion legislation in the Senate.

The House is unlikely to act on the bill in the lame-duck session after the midterm elections on Nov. 6.

Chavern, of the News Media Alliance, said he expects the bill to be reintroduced next year when the 116th Congress is seated. He said the new bill will likely have a prominent Senate sponsor and bipartisan support.

If publishers win the temporary anti-trust exemption, the industry would gain leverage and could threaten to deny Facebook, Google and other digital platforms the ability to distribute the publishers' news reports, video and other original content.

"You have to have the capacity to make that threat in a coordinated way," Chavern said. "Most importantly, we don't think the platforms want to be blamed for making the newspaper industry go under."

The legislation would apply to all print and digital news organizations, including online-only publishers such as Vox and Slate, Chavern said.

Facebook and Google officials did not respond to a request for comment about the proposed anti-trust exemption.

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