Senate Judiciary Committee approves bill to let news organizations negotiate with Google, Facebook

The bill was approved by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which will allow news organizations to negotiate with Google and Facebook to gain more revenue from shared content.

The bill, passed by the committee by a vote of 15 to 7, will be sent to the Senate for further approval.

A similar bill is in the hands of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Many large tech companies use their content to drive traffic and ads revenue without compensating publishers, many of whom struggle financially, so the bill aims to give print news and broadcast organizations more leverage.

The bill, led by Democrat Amy Klobuchar, has attracted Republican support, including Senators John Kennedy and Lindsey Graham. Other Democrats, like Senator Alex Padilla, have expressed reservations.

Earlier this month Senator Ted Cruz supported a plan to address what he considers the platforms stifling conservative views, which held back the passage of the bill.

Klobuchar supported an amendment that stated that the real issue was the prices paid for use of content.

She said that the bill is intended to allow local news organizations to get compensation when major monopolies, such as Facebook and Google, access their content during a committee session. Technology industry trade groups, the Computer Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, are also opposed to the bill, in which Facebook and Google are members.