The complaint estimates there are somewhere between 300,000-700,000 individuals in about 181 countries who missed out on watching crucial moments of the 2020 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
It’s been four months since Comcast filed its FCC petition asking the agency to look at whether Nexstar is in violation of the 39% broadcast audience cap, and so far, it’s been crickets.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee plans to mark up two communications and technology bills this week that deal with broadband and spectrum coordination.
Republican opposition to FCC nominee Gigi Sohn could let Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema decide whether President Joe Biden secures a Democratic majority at the agency.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that she has tested positive for Covid-19. She issued a statement on Sunday in which she said that she last saw President Joe Biden on Tuesday, “when we sat outside more than six-feet apart, and wore masks.”
Exclusives
In a move that is a big blow to some big tech companies, Congress has voted to ban new equipment licenses for Chinese telecoms Huawei, ZTE and any other technology company the government concludes poses a national security threat, closing what one of the bill’s sponsors called a “dangerous loophole.”
In the wake of a court order that permanently shut down Locast, the erstwhile provider of free streams of local broadcast TV feeds is now on the hook to pay $32 million in statutory damages after agreeing to settle a copyright lawsuit brought by ABC, CBS, Fox and NBCUniversal.
America’s richest tech executives and their companies are in the crosshairs of a new effort by Democrats to pay for the party’s ambitious social spending plans. While the new billionaires tax and corporate tax minimum proposals are not specifically targeted toward tech, the industry would be among the hardest hit.
A city that has been looking, previously in vain, for a permanent Federal Communications Commission chair and third commissioner to bring the agency to a full complement, weighed in Tuesday following President Joe Biden‘s renomination of acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel — taking the “acting” from in front of her name — and tapping veteran progressive policy shaper Gigi Sohn to the third seat.
The White House, in a bid to avert a Republican majority over the regulator, also tapped former FCC official Gigi Sohn as a commissioner.
The Federal Trade Commission has warned the advertising industry that penalties could be coming for the use of deceptive endorsements. The FTC not only released a notice, but it also sent a letter to hundreds of businesses — advertisers, advertising agencies, and a few media companies — reminding them of the FTC’s concerns about deceptive endorsements in advertising. The letter reminds businesses that violations can lead to fines of up to $43,792 per violation and other penalties.
Documents collected by whistleblower Frances Haugen could give the company “a lot to regret” in its fights to prove it’s not a monopoly.
D.C. insiders are on the lookout for FCC nominations after Sen. Maria Cantwell (above) reportedly said last week that she was expecting them to come from the White House.
Both ABC and the former top producer of its Good Morning America have asked that a sexual-assault lawsuit filed against both of them be dismissed, citing New York’s statute of limitations on harassment claims and alleging the plaintiff in some parts has made charges that are inapplicable.
Copyright Office To Study News Aggregation & Digital Media’s Use Of Content From Traditional Sources
A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted at a Utah ranch is suing Phil McGraw and ViacomCBS for negligence, claiming that the popular TV doctor recommended she be treated at the facility on the day she appeared on his show.
The FCC has launched some new online touchpoints for complaints about waste, fraud and abuse to raise the profile of the Office of Inspector General. OIG is a small office with the big job of promoting efficient and effectiveness of FCC operations and investigating any complaints about its operations or programs, including being charged with monitoring for waste, fraud and abuse in the multi-billion dollar COVID-19-related relief programs.
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, said he will not be running for re-election in 2022. He said with redistricting, he is up against the new boundaries of his 18th district and he said it was a good transition time for a new — Democratic — member of Congress to get acclimated to the district.
Court Case Reminds Broadcasters To Take Cease & Desist Requests About Attack Ads Seriously
A recent controversial court of appeals decision on a defamation claim brought by Congressman Devin Nunes sends a signal to broadcasters about the care they need to give to reviewing commercial messages — particularly political attack ads — when questions are raised as to the truth of the assertions made in those ads.
As advertised last week, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), joined by a bipartisan chorus of others, including Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), have introduced a bill that would crack down on Big Tech.
The tech industry immediately fired back against the bill.
Agreeing with Amazon, a federal judge has dismissed allegations that the company dupes consumers by claiming to sell online videos, but retaining the right to revoke access to the material. In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. Chief District Judge Kimberly Mueller in Sacramento said Fairfield, Calif., resident Amanda Caudel, the consumer who brought the case, couldn’t proceed in federal court because she hadn’t been injured by Amazon.
FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is not expected to be nominated by President Joe Biden to serve in the role on a permanent basis, people familiar with the matter said, because she is not liberal enough for the administration. Liberals say that by failing to choose a full-time chairman to the agency, Biden has signaled that the commission is not important to his agenda, while agency-related issues important to Democrats continue to linger, such as restoring net neutrality rules, increasing internet price transparency, scrutinizing major telecommunications mergers, and improving competition among internet providers.
Andy Parker, the father of WDBJ Roanoke, Va., reporter Alison Parker who was murdered during a morning live shot in 2015, wants the Federal Trade Commission to take action against Facebook for failing to remove online footage of the shooting.
