Big tech’s reckoning

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( It’s round two of the news industry’s war against Facebook and Google. Under bipartisan legislation U.S. lawmakers plan to [introduce]( today, [David McLaughlin]( and [Sara Forden]( report, media organizations will be allowed to bargain as a group with the companies over payment for content and the data about readers they vacuum up, which is vital to their business model. It comes after [publishers]( in Australia won the ability to receive payment for news, though not without a fight, as Facebook temporarily imposed a news blackout on its platform in the country. Facebook and Google gained some consolation by avoiding forced arbitration. For Democrats in the U.S., the issue comes down to monopoly power. President Joe Biden has signaled a [firm]( approach by planning to put two progressive antitrust scholars in top positions. But anger against tech companies goes beyond the financial decline of newspapers. Conservatives were outraged when Twitter booted former president Donald Trump off, hours after he called those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 “patriots.” Progressives decry the airtime given to QAnon-type conspiracy theories. For now, Washington is the focus of the battle. But France and Canada are also considering emulating Australia’s example. The focus on big tech’s power is also prompting less savory governments to act. Over in Russia, authorities plan to make Twitter [slower]( to load for users after announcing lawsuits against it and four other social-media companies for failing to delete posts about protests over the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It’s a sign there’s one thing politicians across the board seem to agree on: Reining in tech giants. — [Karl Maier]( Facebook, Twitter and Google logos. Source: NurPhoto Check out all our biggest stories on the Bloomberg Politics web page [here]( and tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines [Cash infusion]( | The U.S. House is set to send the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan to Biden for his signature, an economic boost that will last long after Americans receive their $1,400 stimulus checks. The legislation is far bigger than initial Wall Street expectations and is a template for a potential longer-term expansion of America’s social-safety net. - Click [here]( for more on how the stimulus money is benefiting Mexican exports and remittances. - Elizabeth Warren may not have won over Biden to her trademark campaign proposal, a wealth tax, but nearly a [dozen]( of her allies and former aides have joined his administration. [Taking shots]( | European Council President Charles Michel accused the U.K. of blocking exports of Covid-19 vaccines, a claim dismissed as “completely false” by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Vaccines are a flashpoint in post-Brexit relations, with about a third of Britons but only 6% of the European Union’s population receiving a dose so far. - The U.K. test-and-trace program [has failed]( to demonstrate it has contributed to a fall in infection rates, despite its “unimaginable” $30.6 billion cost so far, according to parliament’s spending watchdog. [Coming unstuck]( | A ship that waited nine months is among a handful that China has let unload their cargoes of Australian coal, a reprieve for some seafarers and vessels caught by a trade war that at one point stranded more than 70 carriers. The Topas dropped anchor outside the port of Jingtang in June and finally discharged its cargo this month, shipping data compiled by Bloomberg shows. - [Read how]( consumers in Asia are snapping up Taiwanese pineapples in political solidarity after China banned imports of the fruit from the democratically-governed territory. [Brawling monks]( | Myanmar’s generals are tapping religious nationalism in the Buddhist majority nation as they seek to gain legitimacy and quell post-coup demonstrations that have seen more than 60 people killed. As [Philip J. Heijmans]( reports, that risks reinvigorating a movement with a history of sectarian violence in a country already split between military supporters and opponents. [Legal uncertainty]( | After the Supreme Court on Monday annulled the 2017 convictions of Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, it debated yesterday whether the judge in charge of the original investigation was biased in his rulings. As [Simone Iglesias]( and [Samy Adghirni]( report, the court could upend years of work by the Carwash anti-corruption task force that jailed political and business leaders. What to Watch - The U.S. accepted a troop-funding increase from South Korea significantly [less]( than demanded by the Trump administration, underscoring Biden’s efforts to ease tensions with a key ally. - After China’s stock rout saw state-backed funds intervene to calm the market, searches for the Chinese equivalent of “stock market” generated no posts on Weibo today, suggesting the phrase was [censored](. - South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy warned the country’s[biggest]( polluters, Eskom and Sasol, must meet emission limits even if it costs them financially. - Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu [questioned]( President John Magufuli’s whereabouts, as social-media speculation swirled that he’s fallen ill and been admitted to hospital. - The Pentagon extended the National Guard’s [deployment]( at the Capitol through at least May 23. [And finally]( ... Hackers say they gained access to live feeds of 150,000 surveillance cameras inside prisons, hospitals, schools, gyms and companies including a Tesla assembly line, in a breach of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada. Some of the cameras, including in hospitals, use facial-recognition technology. One of the hackers involved said it showed “just how broadly we’re being surveilled, and how little care is put into at least securing the platforms used to do so.” Madison County Jail seen through a Verkada camera. Source: Bloomberg   Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022