Regulation

The four major U.S. broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — have emerged victorious in a lawsuit against Locast, a nonprofit that enables — or they say, basically steals — local TV streams. Plaintiffs — the stations — asked a judge to throw out Locast’s claim that its online service is legally exempt from copyright infringement liability because it seeks only donations, not fees, from users, and only enough to keep its business running. Locast wanted a finding that it is exempt.

Cable operators want the FCC to reconsider whether broadcasters should be able to use carriage of their primary ATSC 1.0 TV station signal to leverage carriage of new ATSC 3.0 signals, as is the case under current FCC rules. That came in a meeting between NCTA representatives and Media Bureau officials last week to talk about the National Association of Broadcasters petition related to ATSC 3.0 carriage.

One of the three former Netflix software engineers charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission has pleaded guilty. Sung Mo Jun, 49, and his brother Joon Jun, 45, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to securities fraud stemming from their roles in an insider trading ring that they say generated more than $1 million in illegal proceeds, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

Over-the-air TV antenna marketer Mr. Antenna Las Vegas has asked the FCC to block the transfer of the license of KVVU Henderson to Gray Television, which is buying the station from Meredith, or alternatively condition the sale. Mr. Antenna cited what it claimed was a station policy under Meredith of not selling spot advertising time to the company.

In a victory for local broadcasters, the FCC has decided not to make them shoulder some of the costs of the FCC’s congressional mandate to collect better data on broadband, but, for now, won’t make Big Tech pay an FCC user fee for the benefit that tech companies receive from unlicensed spectrum or FCC-administered broadband subsidies.

An ABC News staffer filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Michael Corn, the former top producer of Good Morning America, alleging he sexually assaulted her and fostered a toxic work environment. Kirstyn Crawford, a producer on the morning show, alleged that Corn assaulted her in 2015 during a business trip to Los Angeles, according to the suit, which was filed in New York state court.

A year after WHO-TV Des Moines, Iowa, abruptly let her go, Sonya Heitshusen filed an age and gender discrimination lawsuit Tuesday against WHO’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group. The lawsuit alleges Heitshusen, 54, was “thrown out to pasture” because she was no longer seen as camera-worthy, after years in which she saw her male colleagues receive better treatment from management.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday urged a federal court to order YouTube to quickly restore his former channel on the online video-sharing platform. In a 39-page request for an injunction, Trump’s lawyers argue that his permanent suspension from YouTube is causing him “irreparable injury,” because he is being deprived of “his donor and merchandising platforms,” as well as his ability to endorse political candidates.

Last year, Facebook Inc. did something U.S. technology giants have done countless times before: It bought a smaller company and closed the deal without notifying competition regulators. But this transaction — the $400 million acquisition of image library Giphy Inc. — was particularly bold. At the time, Facebook was under investigation by antitrust enforcers for what the government says was an illegal practice of buying companies in order to eliminate them as potential threats to its monopoly power. Maneuvers like Giphy’s make policing deals all the more challenging at a time when authorities are being called on to take more aggressive steps to curb the growth of dominant companies, especially in the technology industry.

Anthony Morina , the executive producer of The Young and the Restless allegedly made repeated advances toward actress Briana Thomas, commented on her body, offered her a “private acting lesson” and had her fired when she rebuffed him, according to a lawsuit filed on Thursday against Morina and Sony Pictures Television.

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday filed a revised, and significantly lengthier, antitrust complaint against Facebook, in an attempt to persuade a federal judge to allow the prosecution to proceed. Facebook “unlawfully acquired innovative competitors with popular mobile features that succeeded where Facebook’s own offerings fell flat or fell apart,” the agency stated Thursday in a post summarizing its new complaint.

Five people, including three former Netflix employees, used confidential subscriber growth information to illegally trade in Netflix stock, netting $3.1 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed on Wednesday.

The minority tax certificate is back in the news with revised bills being introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The tax certificate offers perhaps the most meaningful route to increasing diversity in broadcast ownership. While the certificate was abolished by Congress over 25 years ago, these new bills signaling the potential for its revival merits another examination of what this policy did and why it was effective, and what is now being proposed.

The Federal Trade Commission this week is expected to lay out its new legal strategy in an ongoing antitrust battle with Facebook that will also reveal how FTC chief Lina Khan plans to take on the market power of U.S. tech giants. The FTC has until Thursday to disclose whether it plans to proceed with the case after a major courtroom setback earlier this year. The agency is largely expected to move forward, and is likely to do so by filing an amended complaint.

MSNBC and Rachel Maddow have again prevailed in a libel suit brought by Herring Networks, the owner of One America News Network (OAN). On Tuesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling that Maddow’s statement about the Trump-friendly network isn’t actionable.

A judge has ruled in favor of Fox News in rejecting a defamation suit by attorney Michael Avenatti, granting Fox’s request that the suit be dismissed. The suit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Avenatti could refile the suit.

The online fact-checker, is retracting 54 stories and has suspended its cofounder after looking into accusations of plagiarism against him. David Mikkelson used a pseudonym, his own name and the Snopes byline to publish the pieces.

The court says the FCC’s arbitrary and capricious’ move failed to consider potential health effects beyond cancer.

A Discovery Inc. executive said Friday that the U.S.-owned company will fight hard to keep control of a television network it owns in Poland, a $3 billion investment that is threatened by a new media bill that passed in parliament this week.

Broadcasters are taking the Federal Communications Commission to U.S. court over its decision to boost disclosure requirements for foreign government-sponsored programming.

Broadcasters are trying to capitalize on momentum in Congress to restore the minority tax certificate program. Bills from Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) have been introduced that would do just that.

Between confusing copyright laws and the ability to easily lift and use video, audio and photographs for their own purposes, many companies in the media industry either don’t understand or don’t take seriously enough the risks of repurposing creative materials. Here are the top copyright pitfalls you should make sure your company understands, and avoids.

A nationwide EAS test is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 2:20 p.m. ET, with “day of test” information to be filed with the FCC on ETRS Form Two by Aug. 12. The FCC issued a reminder last week, and FEMA sent an announcement of the test out yesterday, so do a last check of your equipment to be sure that you are ready to receive the test when it comes your way (or to report on any failure if for any reason it does not arrive as expected).  And don’t forget the final test date due on ETRS Form Three by Sept. 27.

Dominion Voting Systems has filed defamation lawsuits against Newsmax, One America News Network and Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock, over their advancement of conspiracy theories that company had a role in rigging the results of the 2020 presidential election. The lawsuits against One America, Newsmax and Byrne each seek more than $1.6 billion in damages.