103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3591

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Steve Stadelman

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Journalism Preservation Act. Provides that specified online platforms shall track and record, on a monthly basis, the total number of times the online platform's websites link to, display, or present a digital journalism provider's news articles, works of journalism, or other content that are displayed or presented to Illinois residents and remit a journalism usage fee payment to each digital journalism provider who has satisfied specific requirements. Sets forth provisions concerning notice requirements; fee payments; calculation of fees; arbitration; non-retaliation; funding for journalists and support staff; reporting requirements; preservation of rights; and severability.


LRB103 38953 SPS 69090 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3591LRB103 38953 SPS 69090 b

1    AN ACT concerning journalism.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Journalism Preservation Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings.
7    (a) A free and diverse fourth estate was critical in the
8founding of our democracy and continues to be the lifeblood
9for a functioning democracy.
10    (b) Every day, journalism plays an essential role in
11Illinois and in local communities, and the ability of local
12news organizations to continue to provide the public with
13critical information about their communities and enabling
14publishers to receive fair market value for their content that
15is used by others will preserve and ensure the sustainability
16of local and diverse news outlets.
17    (c) Communities without newspapers lose touch with
18government, business, education, and neighbors. They operate
19without journalists working to keep them informed, uncover
20truth, expose corruption, and share common goals and
21experiences.
22    (d) Over the past 10 years, newspaper advertising has
23decreased 66%, and newsroom staff has declined 44%.

 

 

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1    (e) Ethnic media has long been a distinctive genre of
2journalism and communications, informing, engaging, and
3advocating on behalf of communities underserved by both the
4for-profit and not-for-profit general media market. It plays a
5unique role in upholding the fourth estate in our democracy by
6facilitating cross-racial and cross-ethnic communications to
7facilitate social integration, promote civic engagement, and
8address inequalities among all of the underserved communities.
9    (f) Given the important role of ethnic media, it is
10critical to advance State policy that ensures their publishers
11are justly compensated for the content they create and
12distribute. An example is the historic preamble, "We Wish to
13Plead Our Own Cause," a document penned by the
14African-American journalist and abolitionist Samuel Cornish in
151827. It marked a significant milestone in the history of the
16Black press as it highlighted the urgent need for African
17Americans to have their own platform to voice their
18grievances, advocate for their rights, and challenge racial
19inequality. This call to action spurred the establishment of
20numerous Black-owned newspapers and publications, solidifying
21the role of the Black press as a powerful tool for empowerment
22and social change, and laid the groundwork in our country for
23other ethnic media to plead their own cause.
24    (g) Quality local journalism is key to sustaining civic
25society, strengthening communal ties, and providing
26information at a deeper level that national outlets cannot

 

 

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1match.
2    (h) When surveyed, 73% of adults in the United States say
3they have confidence in their local newspaper.
 
4    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
5    "Access" means to acquire, to crawl, or to index content.
6    "Advertising revenue" means revenue generated through the
7sale of digital advertising impressions that are served to
8customers in this State through an online platform, regardless
9of whether those impressions are served on websites or
10accessed through online or mobile applications.
11    "Allocation share" means the percentage of a covered
12platform's journalism usage fees that an eligible digital
13journalism provider is entitled to receive for a particular
14month computed by dividing (1) the total number of the covered
15platform's Internet web pages displayed or presented to
16Illinois residents during the month that link to, display, or
17present the eligible digital journalism provider's news
18articles, works of journalism, or other content, or portions
19thereof by (2) the total number of the covered platform's
20Internet web pages displayed or presented to Illinois
21residents during the month that link to, display, or present
22any eligible digital journalism provider's news articles,
23works of journalism, or other content, or portions thereof,
24less (3) any compensation received by an eligible digital
25journalism provider through commercial agreement prior to

 

 

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1commencement of arbitration for access to content by the
2covered platform.
3    "Covered platform" means an online platform that, at any
4point during a 12-month period, either:
5        (1) has at least 50,000,000 United States-based
6    monthly active users or subscribers on the online
7    platform; or
8        (2) is owned or controlled by a person that either
9    has:
10            (A) net annual sales in the United States or a
11        market capitalization greater than $550,000,000,000,
12        adjusted annually for inflation on the basis of the
13        Consumer Price Index published by the United States
14        Bureau of Labor Statistics; or
15            (B) at least 1,000,000,000 worldwide monthly
16        active users on the online platform.
17    "Covered platform" does not mean an organization exempt
18from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the
19Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
20    "Eligible broadcaster" means a person that:
21        (1) holds or operates under a license issued by the
22    Federal Communications Commission under 47 U.S.C. 301 et
23    seq.;
24        (2) engages professionals to create, edit, produce,
25    and distribute original content concerning local,
26    regional, national, or international matters of public

 

 

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1    interest through activities, including conducting
2    interviews, observing current events, analyzing documents
3    and other information, or fact checking through multiple
4    firsthand or secondhand news sources;
5        (3) updates its content on at least a weekly basis;
6    and
7        (4) uses an editorial process for error correction and
8    clarification, including a transparent process for
9    reporting errors or complaints to the station.
10    "Eligible digital journalism provider" means an eligible
11publisher or eligible broadcaster that discloses its ownership
12to the public.
13    "Eligible publisher" means a person that publishes a
14qualifying publication.
15    "News journalist" means a natural person who:
16        (1) is employed for an average of at least 30 hours per
17    week during a calendar year by an eligible digital
18    journalism provider; and
19        (2) is responsible for gathering, developing,
20    preparing, directing the recording of, producing,
21    collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing,
22    reporting, designing, presenting, distributing, or
23    publishing original news or information that concerns
24    local, regional, national, or international matters of
25    public interest.
26    "Notifying eligible digital journalism provider" means an

 

 

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1entity that has provided notice to a covered platform as
2described in Section 15 that the entity is an eligible digital
3journalism provider.
4    "Online platform" means a website, online or mobile
5application, digital assistant, or online service that:
6        (1) accesses news articles, works of journalism, or
7    other content, or portions thereof, generated, created,
8    produced, or owned by an eligible digital journalism
9    provider; and
10        (2) aggregates, displays, provides, distributes, or
11    directs users to content described in paragraph (1) of
12    this definition.
13    "Qualifying publication" means a website, online or mobile
14application, or other digital service that:
15        (1) does not primarily display, provide, distribute,
16    or offer content generated, created, produced, or owned by
17    an eligible broadcaster;
18        (2) provides information to an audience in this State;
19        (3) performs a public information function comparable
20    to that traditionally served by newspapers and other
21    periodical news publications;
22        (4) engages professionals to create, edit, produce,
23    and distribute original content concerning local,
24    regional, national, or international matters of public
25    interest through activities, including conducting
26    interviews, observing current events, analyzing documents

 

 

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1    and other information, or fact checking through multiple
2    firsthand or secondhand news sources;
3        (5) updates its content at least 52 weeks in a
4    calendar year;
5        (6) has an editorial process for error correction and
6    clarification, including a transparent process for
7    reporting errors or complaints to the publication; and
8        (7) meets any of the following criteria:
9            (A) generated at least $100,000 in annual revenue
10        from its editorial content in the previous calendar
11        year;
12            (B) had an International Standard Serial Number
13        assigned to an affiliated periodical before submitting
14        notice to a covered platform under Section 15; or
15            (B) is owned or controlled by an organization
16        exempt from federal income taxation under Section
17        501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
18        (8) has at least 25% of its editorial content
19    consisting of information about topics of current local,
20    regional, national, or international public interest; or
21        (9) is not controlled, or wholly or partially owned
22    by, an entity that:
23            (A) is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign
24        power, as those terms are defined in 50 U.S.C. 1801;
25            (2) is designated as a foreign terrorist
26        organization under 8 U.S.C. 1189;

 

 

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1            (3) is a terrorist organization, as defined in 8
2        U.S.C. 1182;
3            (4) is designated as a specially designated global
4        terrorist organization under federal Executive Order
5        13224;
6            (5) is an affiliate of an entity described in
7        subparagraph (1), (2), (3), or (4); and
8            (6) has been convicted of violating, or attempting
9        to violate 18 U.S.C. 2331, 2332b, or 2339A.
10    "Representative" means a labor organization designated as
11the exclusive bargaining representative of news journalists or
12support staff for the purposes of collective bargaining in
13accordance with State or federal law.
14    "Support staff" means a natural person who performs
15nonexecutive functions, including payroll, human resources,
16fundraising and grant support, advertising and sales,
17community events and partnerships, technical support,
18sanitation, and security.
 
19    Section 15. Notice requirements for journalism usage fee
20payments.
21    (a) On or before January 1, 2025, all eligible digital
22journalism providers that want to receive journalism usage fee
23payments under this Act shall submit notice to a covered
24platform as described in subsection (b). All eligible digital
25journalism providers that submit the notice shall receive

 

 

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1journalism usage fee payments from covered platforms as
2described in Section 20 beginning no later than 30 days after
3the end of the arbitration process described in Section 25.
4Digital journalism providers may provide notice to a covered
5platform as described in subsection (b) after the initial
6arbitration has concluded; however, notice received from an
7eligible digital journalism provider after January 1, 2025,
8shall not prompt any adjustment to the percentage of
9advertising revenue that has previously been determined under
10the most recent arbitration proceeding conducted as described
11in Section 25.
12    (b) The notice described in subsection (a) shall:
13        (1) identifies the eligible digital journalism
14    provider and the authorized representative of the eligible
15    digital journalism provider;
16        (2) certifies, not under penalty of perjury, that the
17    eligible digital journalism provider reasonably believes
18    that it is either an eligible broadcaster or an eligible
19    publisher; and
20        (3) identifies the root uniform resource locators for
21    the websites associated with the eligible digital
22    journalism provider's digital content.
23    (c) No later than 30 days after submitting a notice
24described in subsection (b), the eligible digital journalism
25provider shall distribute a copy of the notice to the news
26journalists and support staff that it employs and their

 

 

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1representatives, if any, and publish a copy of the notice
2online in a text-searchable format.
3    (d) No later than 30 days after the deadline described in
4subsection (a), or after receiving a notice as described in
5subsection (a), the covered platform shall send a reply notice
6to the authorized representative identified in subsection (b)
7to acknowledge the receipt of the notice.
8    (e) A covered platform that receives as described in
9paragraph (b) may, within 30 days after receiving the notice,
10challenge:
11        (1) the sufficiency of the notice; and
12        (2) the noticing party's qualification as an eligible
13    digital journalism provider.
 
14    Section 20. Journalism usage fee calculations.
15    (a) A covered platform shall track and record, on a
16monthly basis, for each eligible digital journalism provider
17that submits a notice as described in Section 15, the total
18number of times the covered platform's websites link to,
19display, or present the eligible digital journalism provider's
20news articles, works of journalism, or other content, or
21portions thereof, and that the covered platform has displayed
22or presented to Illinois residents, regardless of whether the
23content appears in a language other than English.
24    (b) A covered platform shall, on a monthly basis, use the
25data collected under subsection (a) to calculate the

 

 

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1allocation share for each notifying eligible digital
2journalism provider.
3    (c) One percent of the journalism usage fee shall be paid
4to eligible digital journalism providers that produce at least
530,000 annual search occurrences in Illinois searches or
610,000 annual social media impressions from Illinois.
7    (d) Within 10 days after the end of each month, a covered
8platform shall remit a journalism usage fee payment to each
9notifying eligible digital journalism provider that is equal
10to a percentage of the covered platform's advertising revenue
11generated during that month multiplied by the eligible digital
12journalism provider's allocation share for that month.
13    (e) If an eligible digital journalism provider fails to
14comply with Section 40, a covered platform may withhold
15journalism usage fee payments until the eligible digital
16journalism provider has provided a copy of the report
17described in subsection (a) of Section 40 to the covered
18platform and has published a copy of the report online as
19described in subsection (b) of Section 40.
 
20    Section 25. Arbitration.
21    (a) The percentage of the covered platform's advertising
22revenue remitted to notifying eligible digital journalism
23providers shall be determined as described in this Section.
24Eligible digital journalism providers shall jointly
25participate in the final offer arbitration process described

 

 

SB3591- 12 -LRB103 38953 SPS 69090 b

1in this Section with each covered platform to determine a
2single percentage of advertising revenue from which future
3monthly allocation shares will be allotted.
4    (b) Within 10 days after the receipt of the reply notice
5required by subsection (d) of Section 15, an eligible digital
6journalism provider may initiate, under Rule R-4 of the
7American Arbitration Association's Commercial Arbitration
8Rules and Mediation Procedures, a final offer arbitration
9against the covered platform for an arbitration panel to
10determine the percentage of the covered platform's advertising
11revenue remitted to the notifying eligible digital journalism
12providers.
13    (c) The arbitration procedure authorized by this
14subsection shall commence 10 days after the receipt of the
15reply notice described in subsection (d) of Section 15.
16    (d) The arbitration procedure authorized by this
17subsection shall be decided by a panel of 3 arbitrators under
18the American Arbitration Association's Commercial Arbitration
19Rules and Mediation Procedures and the American Arbitration
20Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Final
21Offer Arbitration Supplementary Rules, except to the extent
22they conflict with this Section.
23    (e) The covered platform and the eligible digital
24journalism providers shall each pay one-half of the cost of
25administering the arbitration proceeding, including arbitrator
26compensation, expenses, and administrative fees.

 

 

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1    (f) The arbitrators shall be appointed in accordance with
2the American Arbitration Association's Commercial Arbitration
3Rules and Mediation Procedures.
4    (g) During a final offer arbitration proceeding under this
5Section, all of the following shall apply:
6        (1) Eligible digital journalism providers and the
7    covered platform may demand the production of documents
8    and information that are non-privileged, reasonably
9    necessary, and reasonably accessible without undue
10    expense. Documents and information shall be exchanged no
11    later than 30 days after the date the demand is filed.
12        (2) Rules regarding the admissibility of evidence
13    under the American Arbitration Association's Commercial
14    Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures shall apply.
15        (3) Eligible digital journalism providers and the
16    covered platform shall each submit a final offer proposal
17    for the remuneration that the eligible digital journalism
18    providers should receive from the covered platform for
19    access to the content of the eligible digital journalism
20    providers during the period under arbitration based on the
21    value that access provides to the platform. The final
22    offer proposals shall include backup materials sufficient
23    to permit the other party to replicate the proffered
24    valuation.
25        (4) A final offer proposal under this Section shall
26    not address whether or how the covered platform or any

 

 

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1    eligible digital journalism provider displays, ranks,
2    distributes, suppresses, promotes, throttles, labels,
3    filters, or curates the content of the eligible digital
4    journalism providers or any other person.
5    (h) No later than 60 days after the date proceedings begin
6as described in subsection (c), the arbitration panel shall
7determine the percentage of the covered platform's advertising
8revenue remitted to notifying eligible digital journalism
9providers from a final offer from one of the parties without
10modification.
11        (1) In making a determination, the arbitration panel
12    shall:
13            (A) refrain from considering any value conferred
14        upon any eligible digital journalism provider by the
15        covered platform for distributing or aggregating its
16        content as an offset to the value created by that
17        eligible digital journalism provider, unless the
18        covered platform does not automatically access and
19        extract information from an eligible digital
20        journalism provider's website;
21            (B) consider past incremental revenue
22        contributions as a guide to the future incremental
23        revenue contribution by any eligible digital
24        journalism provider;
25            (C) consider the pricing, terms, and conditions of
26        any available, comparable commercial agreements

 

 

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1        between parties granting access to digital content,
2        including pricing, terms, and conditions relating to
3        price, duration, territory, and the value of data
4        generated directly or indirectly by the content
5        accounting for any material disparities in negotiating
6        power between the parties to those commercial
7        agreements;
8            (D) if submitted with a final offer proposal,
9        consider the eligible digital journalism provider's
10        previous compliance with Section 40, if applicable;
11        and
12            (E) issue a standard binding arbitration award of
13        the percentage of the covered platform's advertising
14        revenue remitted to notifying eligible digital
15        journalism providers.
16        (2) Any party to the arbitration proceeding may elect
17    to appeal the decision of the arbitration panel as
18    described in subsection (j) on the grounds of a procedural
19    irregularity.
20    (i) If the covered platform and any eligible digital
21journalism providers have given notice under Section 15 reach
22a settlement in lieu of arbitration, the settlement shall not
23waive the eligible digital journalism provider's obligations
24as described in Section 40 and shall not settle for an amount
25other than the final offer proposals submitted by the parties
26as described in paragraph (3) of subsection (g).

 

 

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1    (j) No fewer than 24 months after the end of an arbitration
2proceeding, any party to the proceeding may elect to restart
3the arbitration process.
 
4    Section 30. Non-retaliation.
5    (a) A covered platform shall not retaliate against an
6eligible digital journalism provider for asserting its rights
7under this Act by refusing to index content or changing the
8ranking, identification, modification, branding, or placement
9of the content of the eligible digital journalism provider on
10the covered platform.
11    (b) An eligible digital journalism provider that is
12retaliated against may bring a civil action against the
13covered platform.
14    (c) This Section does not prohibit a covered platform
15from, and does not impose liability on a covered platform for,
16enforcing its terms of service against an eligible journalism
17provider.
 
18    Section 35. Funding for journalists and support staff.
19    (a) An eligible digital journalism provider shall spend at
20least 70% of funds received under this Act on news journalists
21and support staff employed by the eligible digital journalism
22provider, except that an eligible digital journalism provider
23with 5 or fewer employees shall spend at least 50% of funds
24received under this Act on news journalists and support staff

 

 

SB3591- 17 -LRB103 38953 SPS 69090 b

1employed by the eligible digital journalism provider.
2    (b) No later than 30 days after the end of an arbitration
3proceeding described in Section 25 or upon reaching a
4settlement in lieu of an arbitration proceeding, the eligible
5digital journalism provider shall provide notification in
6writing of its plan to comply with subsection (a) to the news
7journalists and support staff employed by the eligible digital
8journalism provider and any representatives of those news
9journalists or support staff.
10    (c) The eligible digital journalism provider's plan to
11comply with subsection (a) shall include a good faith estimate
12of the number of news journalists and support staff, if any,
13expected to be hired, details regarding proposed compensation
14adjustments, if any, and a disclosure if either hiring or
15compensation adjustments are not expected.
 
16    Section 40. Reporting requirements.
17    (a) No later than one year after the end of an arbitration
18proceeding described in Section 25 or reaching a settlement in
19lieu of an arbitration proceeding, and each year thereafter,
20the eligible digital journalism provider shall compile a
21report that includes:
22        (1) an attestation as to whether the eligible digital
23    journalism provider has complied with subsection (a) of
24    Section 35;
25        (2) the text of the digital journalism provider's plan

 

 

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1    to comply with subsection (a) of Section 35;
2        (3) the total number of journalism usage fees received
3    from covered platforms;
4        (4) the name of each covered platform paying the
5    eligible digital journalism provider a journalism usage
6    fee and a description of how the eligible digital
7    journalism provider spent the journalism usage fee
8    payment, including any amount of journalism usage fees
9    remaining unspent; and
10        (5) the total number of news journalists and support
11    staff employed by the eligible digital journalism
12    provider, including the number of news journalists and
13    support staff hired or terminated during the previous
14    year.
15    (b) No later than one year after the end of an arbitration
16proceeding described in Section 25 or reaching a settlement in
17lieu of an arbitration proceeding, and each year thereafter,
18the eligible digital journalism provider shall publish a copy
19of the report described in subsection (a) online in a
20text-searchable format and provide a copy to the news
21journalists and support staff employed by the eligible digital
22journalism provider, any representatives of those news
23journalists or support staff, and the covered platforms paying
24journalism usage fees to the eligible digital journalism
25provider.
 

 

 

SB3591- 19 -LRB103 38953 SPS 69090 b

1    Section 45. Preservation of rights.
2    (a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as amending or
3repealing the ability of an eligible digital journalism
4provider or a covered platform to seek a preliminary or
5permanent injunction or any other existing remedy at law or
6equity.
7    (b) This Act does not modify, impair, expand, or in any way
8alter rights pertaining to the federal Lanham Act (15 U.S.C.
91051 et seq).
10    (c) This Act does not abridge or impair rights otherwise
11reserved by news journalists, support staff, or their
12representatives according to applicable law or existing
13collective bargaining agreements.
 
14    Section 50. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
15severable. If any provision of this act or its application is
16held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other
17provisions or applications that can be given effect without
18the invalid provision or application.