Regulation

The fiercest advocates for net neutrality are readying a new war in the nation’s capital, hoping to restore the rules that the Trump administration just eliminated — and galvanize a new generation of younger, web-savvy voters in the process. Not even a month after the FCC voted to scrap its requirement that internet providers treat all web traffic equally, an armada of tech startups, consumer activists and state attorneys general are preparing to take the agency to court.

While some might think that the business of deregulation is easy, that usually is not the case, as comments on the FCC’s proposals to modify the public notice requirements for broadcast applications make clear. While this proposal seems very straightforward, and many of the comments took the sides that one would expect, there were numerous comments that didn’t. Here’s a look at some.

Following a controversial vote to end Obama-era net neutrality protections, the agency’s chairman calls off plans to be a panelist at the tech industry’s annual trade show.

When the FCC adopted its Report and Order authorizing the next-generation TV standard ATSC 3.0, it did not resolve all issues, instead leaving a few for further public comment. Notice of the issues raised in the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the Federal Register just before Christmas, setting Feb. 20 as the deadline for initial comments on the outstanding issues, and March 20 as the deadline for reply comments.

Freedom of information requests are an important tool for any reporter, not just for investigative teams. Requesting public documents is one of the best ways to keep government agencies accountable.

On Dec.14, the FCC released a public notice unveiling a draft program comment that will supposedly resolve the longstanding issues surrounding collocating equipment on so-called “Twilight Towers.”

Google urges a judge to throw out a lawsuit over restricted videos on YouTube filed by radio talkshow host Dennis Prager, who in October filed a lawsuit against Google alleging censorship of conservatives. Now, Prager demands a preliminary injunction that would prohibit YouTube from restricting viewer access to its videos absent evidence of graphic nudity, violence, profanity, obscene material, hate speech, or anything that would be considered “objectively” offensive.

No doubt anticipating more blow-back in his general direction at Sundays sure-to-be-highly-charged Golden Globe Awards, President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday evening that, the day after the awards ceremony, he will announce winners of his new “MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR.” All-caps are his. Trump’s ceremony is set for 5 PM, he tweeted, presumably meaning Eastern Time.

The holidays are over, and while the regulation never stops, it is time to once again buckle down and look at what is on the horizon for broadcasters. While, in the next few days, we will have our typical look ahead at the broadcast regulatory agenda in Washington for the New Year, we also need to look at more immediate deadlines in the month of January.

Decisions made in courtrooms and boardrooms alike are poised to have lasting implications on the long-term direction of the cable industry. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest cable/media stories of 2017 (in no particular order) and their impact heading into 2018.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on New Year’s Day called for a revival of “shared facts” in politics and the media. Sasse released a video saying that the country’s system of government “will not work” without a shared understanding of the value of the First Amendment.

The Copyright Office is reviewing the reporting obligations of cable and satellite television systems related to the statutory license that permits those systems to carry the programming of local television stations. The Copyright Office has just announced that it is extending the comment period in the proceeding. Comments are now due March 16, with replies due on April 6, 2018.

While President Trump’s Department of Justice sues to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, it’s also eyeing a clampdown on Comcast. Federal law enforcement is weighing an extension of a six-year-old probationary period over Comcast’s merger with NBCUniversal, concerned that the Philadelphia-based cable giant has been playing fast and loose with competition rules, sources say.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson says she plans to join peers from other states in challenging federal rule changes to internet access. Swanson told supporters in an email that she and other attorneys general would sue over the FCC recent decision to repeal the so-called net neutrality rule, which prevented service providers from blocking certain sites or setting rates based on content.

Internet users are complaining more about net neutrality-related issues since the FCC voted to repeal the existing net neutrality rules earlier this month, according to the FCC’s consumer complaint data.

While the FCC’s proposed fine of $13.4 million against Sinclair Broadcast Group is large given the thousands of alleged broadcasts missing the sponsorship tags, the commission’s basis for the fines are not new. The FCC has previously fined stations for news segments that were sold as part of a commercial package and aired without sponsorship identification tags.

Digital media go way too far in collecting personal information and using it to target ads. It’s not good for people and, incidentally, it’s not good for broadcasting, which can’t compete with the likes of Google and Facebook in the Big Data game. A privacy law banning digital media from profiling their users is unlikely, but tough regulations that limit it may be possible.

AT&T and Time Warner have agreed to extend the deadline for their long-delayed merger until June 21, according to an SEC filing Thursday. The extension should allow time for a verdict in the Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeking to block the deal. The trial will begin in March. June 21 is the date when both parties can officially abandon the deal.

The judge overseeing the Justice Department’s bid to stop AT&T from buying Time Warner said Thursday that he would deny a request to tighten protections on confidential data.

Each year around this time, Pillsbury’s communications practice releases its Broadcasters’ Calendar for the upcoming year. It may not be the perfect stocking stuffer, but broadcasters that don’t read it closely are much more likely to end up on the FCC’s Naughty List next year.

The FCC this week announced the filing of two applications seeking broadcast acquisitions by non-U.S. based companies. In one, a company controlled by Mexican citizens would go from 25% to 100% ownership and control of a company that owns two FM stations in California and Arizona. In another, an Italian company would acquire a number of radio stations in Florida. Each of the FCC notices ask for public comment on the proposed acquisitions.

The $13.4 million notice of apparent liability is for its airing of paid programming that did not include proper disclosures when broadcast. Sinclair says it will contest the fine.

Tom Wheeler, the former chairman of the FCC under President Obama, on Wednesday called for internet giants like Facebook and Google to be regulated. “It is time to recognize that the most powerful companies in the country should not be making their own rules,” Wheeler wrote.

Walt Disney Co joined 21st Century Fox on Wednesday in asking the judge hearing AT&T Inc’s antitrust case to strengthen an order aimed at keeping its data private if it is used at trial next year.

Two additional former Fox News employees are suing Bill O’Reilly and the cable news network for defamation, joining the legal battle that was brought earlier this month by former Fox News producer Rachel Witlieb Bernstein.

The political pundit alleged that Roger Ailes conditioned her network role on a sexual relationship.