New privacy laws — including Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation and California’s Consumer Privacy Act — could end up creating “protective moats” around established companies like Google and Facebook, while thwarting start-ups, according to Federal Trade Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips.
An outgrowth of Justice’s review of the Sinclair-Tribune merger, the probe is digging into whether Sinclair, Tribune and other TV station owners coordinated ad sales and, in so doing, inflated advertising prices. “It is our policy not to comment on a potential investigation,” said a Sinclair spokesman. “It is our understanding that this is not specific to Sinclair but focuses on the larger broadcast industry.”
With his tweet voicing support for Sinclair, says former Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, President Trump attempt to influence the FCC’s handling of the Sinclair-Tribune merger moves from “a thumb on the scale to a chain-mailed fist.”
In response to Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) at oversight hearing this afternoon, the four FCC commissioners took turns reacting to President Trump’s tweet that blasted the FCC for not approving the Sinclair-Tribune merger. Chairman Ajit Pai said he stood by his decision; Michael O’Rielly said he could not answer since the issue had been referred to an FCC judge; Brendan Carr said the order designating the merger for hearing had laid out the fact and law; and Jessica Rosenworcel said she disagrees with the tweet.
Exclusives
In testimony prepared for a Congressional oversight hearing today, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner criticizes the agency for too often falling short of good governance and “acting at the behest of the corporate forces that surround it, shortchanging the American public.”
The president says that the result of the FCC’s rejection on the Sinclair-Tribune merger will be the loss of a “much needed Conservative voice for and of the People.”
The former co-host of Fox News Channel’s The Five left the network amid news that she is dating the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
The Consumer Technology Association took aim at the Trump Administration‘s billions of dollars in new tariffs on Chinese tech. In testimony to the U.S. Trade Representative, VP Sage Chandler said the proposed $16 billion in tech tariffs would put consumers “at risk” of price increases, disproportionately “fall” on the poor and elderly, “harm” industries the President is trying to protect, and “destroy” jobs.
Broadcasters deserve to get paid by cable and satellite operators who redistribute their programming, but the current retransmission consent mechanism for getting paid is “a steaming pile of outdated, conflicting and unnecessary government interventions into the market.” Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s just introduced legislation would eliminate retrans, but preserve in established copyright law broadcasters’ ability to negotiate for compensation from the MVPDs just as all the cable networks do.
The head of the conservative TV news network Newsmax, who has been a vocal opponent of the Sinclair-Tribune, said on CNN that he told the president strict limits on national TV ownership are needed not only to keep a lid on Sinclair, but also on the “liberal” broadcast networks. “I think that would have been very dangerous if NBC was dictating the local news coverage in Des Moines, Iowa.”
In a phone call last Tuesday night (and follow-up email Wednesday afternoon), Sinclair General Counsel Barry Faber tried to persuade FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reconsider his plan to designate the Sinclair’s proposed merger with Tribune for hearing — a move that will likely derail the merger — on grounds that Sinclair misled the agency about its promise to divest three stations. It was to no avail. All for commissioners ordered the hearing on Wednesday.
The Association of National Advertisers tells the NTIA that strong privacy protections are “important,” but adds that they must be “balanced with the other benefits of the digital economy that […]
The FCC on Thursday published its order calling for a hearing on the proposed $3.9 billion Sinclair Broadcast Group acquisition of Tribune Media. Sinclair revised the proposed deal on Wednesday after FCC Chairman Pai expressed concerns over some station spinoffs. To no avail. In today’s order, the FCC said: “Material questions remain because the real party-in-interest issue in this case includes a potential element of misrepresentation or lack of candor that may suggest granting other, related applications by the same party would not be in the public interest.” That could spell big trouble for the station group that goes far beyond the current proposed deal.
The “daily” White House press briefing is a thing of the past. The White House has only held three on-camera briefings in the past 30 days, according to the administration’s own records on WhiteHouse.gov.
Did an AT&T price hike spark a Department of Justice appeal? Even if the telecom’s Time Warner acquisition ultimately is upheld, uncertainty threatens to impact everything in Hollywood, from the pending Fox sale to the auction for Sky.
The FCC Transparency Act, which mandates that the FCC publish the drafts of items to be considered in a public meeting 21 days ahead of the vote, was reintroduced by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). Under FCC chair Ajit Pai, it had already become a matter of practice.
The U.S. Justice Department has proposed an expedited schedule for an appeal of a judge’s ruling that allowed AT&T to buy movie and TV show maker Time Warner, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
Rep. Devin Nunes is sitting on an eye-popping pile of money he’s raised in recent months, with little reason to spend it yet. Except for one splurge: an unusually aggressive — and sustained — offensive against his local newspaper, which he is tearing into as “fake news.” In a campaign ad running more than two minutes — and appearing not only online, but also on radio and TV — Nunes casts the dominant newspaper in his California district as a “band of creeping correspondents,” criticizing The Fresno Bee for its routine reporting practices and for its coverage of a controversy surrounding a winery in which the Republican congressman invests.
The Next Gen TV local simulcasting rules have received the approval of the Office of Management and Budget. This means that voluntary use of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard is a go — another milestone for TV operators seeking an addressable advertising solution and superior audio and visual quality.
The FCC said late on Wednesday it had voted unanimously to refer Sinclair Broadcast Group’s $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media to an administrative law judge, a blow to the firms’ chances of winning approval. The decision came the same day Sinclair announced it was changing some of the divestitures proposed in the deal; it withdraw the proposed sales of KDAF Dallas and KIAH Houston to Cunningham Broadcasting.
While Google can easily afford the record fine, the ruling could hurt the company’s business model, which relies on giving away its operating system in return for opportunities to sell ads and other products.
In response to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s concerns, the company says it will withdraw the proposed sales of KDAF Dallas and KIAH Houston to Cunningham Broadcasting.
What Does ‘Designated For Hearing’ Mean?
In light of yesterday’s announcement that the FCC chairman has proposed that portions of the acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group of the television stations owned by Tribune Media would be designated for hearing, one question that many have asked is, “What does designation for hearing mean?”
A federal judge on Tuesday lifted a controversial order requiring The Los Angeles Times to delete information in an article published over the weekend. U.S. District Judge John Walter walked back his original decision after the Times protested with the support of newsrooms across the country, citing First Amendment concerns.
