District of Columbia e-Book Fairness Act Signed by Mayor, Defying Corporate Pressure and Private Equity Lobbying (Statement From eBook Study Group)

From the eBook Study Group:

The eBook Study Group (ESG) celebrates a historic milestone for public digital access as District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has officially signed B26-0490, the “Library E-book Pricing Fairness Amendment Act of 2025.” The legislation, which was drafted by the eBook Study Group, marks a decisive legislative victory for public libraries, school systems, and taxpayers over restrictive digital licensing models driven by major publishing houses and private equity interests.

The successful passage of the Act follows comprehensive written and oral testimony delivered by the eBook Study Group. ESG was deeply honored to participate directly in the public legislative hearings before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Human Services, working closely with lawmakers to outline the critical need for sustainable digital procurement standards.

“We were incredibly honored to participate in the legislative process and testify before the Committee on Human Services,” said Kyle K. Courtney, lawyer, librarian, and founder of the eBook Study Group. “Having drafted this legislation from the ground up, seeing it signed into law is a monumental victory. We are deeply grateful to Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin, his tireless legislative team, and Mayor Bowser for standing up for D.C. readers. This law establishes an enduring blueprint for states across the country, proving that public access to digital knowledge must be governed by the public mission of libraries rather than predatory, non-negotiable contract practices designed to maximize private leverage.”

D.C. Council Rejects OverDrive’s Scare Tactics

The enactment of B26-0490 represents a significant rebuke of a dense, multi-layered lobbying campaign mounted by OverDrive; the dominant digital library platform vendor owned by global private equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. In extensive written opposition, OverDrive aligned itself with major multinational publishers, attempting to persuade lawmakers to reject the consumer-protection measure through an array of corporate pressure tactics and legal warnings.

Furthermore, lawmakers looked past provocative rhetoric from corporate opponents who labeled the consumer protection bill a “Book Banning scheme” that would turn digital collections into “zombie” platforms. As ESG’s advocates demonstrated during the hearings, the legislation does not ban materials; rather, it prevents abusive contracts from effectively banning the core public service and preservation operations of libraries.

A Solid, Legally Grounded Standard for Digital Equity

The “Library E-book Pricing Fairness Amendment Act” succeeds due to the precise legal framework drafted by ESG, which directly addresses the structural vulnerabilities of previous state-level library eBook efforts.

The Act does not rewrite federal copyright law, interfere with exclusive rights, or compel any publisher to distribute or license their works. Instead, the statute is grounded firmly in the District of Columbia’s long-established authority to regulate public procurement, consumer protection, and state contract law. It stipulates that if a publisher voluntarily chooses to license electronic literary materials to a District library, the resulting contract cannot contain terms that unconscionably subvert the library’s public mission, such as placing discriminatory restrictions on loan frequency or contract durations.

To ensure stability and leverage collective market power, the Act features a collaborative, multi-state trigger mechanism built into ESG’s original draft. Its operational restrictions will formally take effect once a coordinated threshold of 10 or more states, representing an aggregate population of at least 50 million people, enact substantially similar eBook legislation. By passing this bill, the District of Columbia has positioned itself as a critical anchor in a growing, unified state-level response to digital market monopolies.

About the eBook Study Group

The eBook Study Group is a national coalition of library professionals, legal scholars, and digital rights advocates dedicated to ensuring equitable, sustainable public access to digital knowledge. ESG works with local, state, and federal lawmakers to draft, defend, and advance balanced information policies that protect the historical, educational, and democratic mission of libraries in the digital age.

Learn More, Additional Background: Read this Post From the eBook Study Group

See Also: Read the eBook Study Group’s Full Legal Breakdown of the Legislative Proceedings

Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Conference Presentations, Digital Collections, Interactive Tools, Libraries, News, Preservation, Public Libraries, Publishing