Regulation

The right-wing cable channel Newsmax denied Friday that it intentionally destroyed or concealed internal emails in an ongoing defamation case filed by voting technology company Smartmatic over the network’s airing of false claims about the 2020 election.

The FCC chairwoman’s penchant for onerous deal conditions and circumventing her fellow commissioners on critical ownership cases has pushed broadcasters to a “break glass” moment.

The FCC commissioner calls the effort “as misguided as it is unlawful” and said it would “do more harm than good.”

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan said Wednesday that companies that train their artificial intelligence models on data from news websites, artists’ creations or people’s personal information could be in violation of antitrust laws.

CBS filed a motion Thursday to throw out a lawsuit challenging its diversity hiring practices for writers on the show SEAL Team, arguing that it has a First Amendment right to hire who it wants. Brian Beneker, the longtime script coordinator on the show, sued in February, arguing that he had been repeatedly passed over for writing jobs because he is a straight, white man.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington has announced several staff changes with one departure from his office, one new addition and one promotion.

Colorado’s bill and six others that faltered in Washington, Connecticut and elsewhere faced battles on many fronts, including between civil rights groups and the tech industry, and lawmakers wary of wading into a technology few yet understand and governors worried about being the odd-state-out and spooking AI startups.

The FCC introduced a measure Wednesday that would require political advertisements to disclose the use of artificial intelligence software, in what could be the federal government’s first foray into regulating the use of the technology in politics.

Major tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI, came together in a landmark international agreement on artificial intelligence safety on Tuesday. Following the agreement, these companies will make voluntary commitments to ensure the safe development of their most advanced AI models.

Colorado will require developers of artificial intelligence (AI) to avoid discrimination in high-risk systems as part of a bill signed into law Friday by Gov. Jared Polis (D). The first-in-the-nation law adds requirements for developers of “high-risk” AI systems to “use reasonable care to avoid algorithmic discrimination.”

In an attempt to avoid a jury trial, Google has tendered a cashier’s check to the U.S. government for monetary damages resulting from alleged antitrust violations. The company said in court papers that the check was for triple the amount of damages the government sought and interest, but the exact dollar figure was blacked out of the version available to the public.

Watson’s lawyer has argued that many other media leaders lured investors with “puffing and bluffing,” and that he is being singled out because he is Black.

The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would revise rules governing low-power TV stations in a number of areas, including online public file requirements, and rules governing operations of Class A television, LPTV and TV translator stations.

The lawsuit claims Berkeley-based startup LOVO misappropriated actors’ voices to create its AI voice tool.

The FCC names the leaders who will guide the agency’s spectrum policy modernization and National Spectrum Strategy efforts.

A bipartisan group of senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a sweeping report Wednesday detailing how Congress should regulate AI, capping off a nearly year-long effort. Getting AI bills passed before the end of the year is a bipartisan goal, but time is running out with limited opportunities for floor action and the election looming. Any change in administration or congressional makeup could derail the report’s goals.

On April 23, the U.S. Department of Labor published final regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act that ultimately raise the minimum salary necessary to be exempt from federal overtime rules by 65%. These changes affect all businesses subject to the FLSA, but broadcasters and other media employers may particularly feel the impact given that they rarely operate on a 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. schedule. The increase will occur in two steps, with the first going into effect on July 1, 2024, and the second occurring on Jan. 1, 2025.

Judge Judy wants inquiring minds to know that a recent National Enquirer article claiming she is seeking a new trial for the long-convicted Menendez brothers is “unequivocally false.” So false in fact, that longtime small screen magistrate is taking the Enquirer and InTouch Weekly owner Accelerate360 to court for defamation.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday signed a privacy law that imposes tough new restrictions on online data collection and ad targeting. Major ad industry groups had urged Moore to veto the measure, which the groups said includes “the most onerous and restrictive approach to data privacy in the United States to date.”

Filmmakers are warning that a recent ruling in a copyright suit against Netflix over its Tiger King docuseries could restrict the use of video clips in documentaries, and upset a long-held understanding of what constitutes “fair use.”

The agency released a final order clarifying that pay-to-play internet “fast lanes” for consumers violate its net neutrality rules. It also guarantees the new rules won’t preempt state broadband affordability programs.

The FCC is set to vote May 23 on a proposal to ban labs owned by companies deemed to be national security risks from its equipment authorization program. Companies on the agency’s “covered list” are already barred from receiving FCC authorizations necessary to sell new wireless products, as well as from being vendors for federally funded projects. The proposal circulated Thursday would prohibit labs and facilities from conducting tests for the agency as part of that authorization program if they’re at least 10% owned by a covered list entity.

The social media company and its Chinese parent, ByteDance, sued to challenge the new law, saying it violated users’ First Amendment rights.

Meta Platforms is urging a federal appellate court to reconsider a recent 2-1 decision allowing Facebook and Instagram advertisers to proceed with a class-action fraud lawsuit over inflated metrics. In papers filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Meta says the panel ruling doesn’t “make any sense in a case like this,” given that the class of affected advertisers includes entities ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses to government agencies. Meta adds that the ruling will make it “virtually impossible” for defendants in other lawsuits to oppose class-action certification.

Judge Amit P. Mehta tried poking holes in the closing arguments of a landmark monopoly case as he weighs a ruling that could reshape tech.

DirecTV, Dish Network and Newsmax also joined the call for hearings in Washington, D.C. into the future of pay TV competition and its impact on consumers.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Thursday plugged her bill in Congress aimed at helping local media get more compensation from the likes of Facebook and Google by collaborating under an exemption from antitrust regulation — fittingly at the Business of TV News event in Washington. The Minnesota Democrat, who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, co-sponsored (with Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana) the Journalism, Competition and Preservation Act. That bill, which she said cleared the Judiciary Committee by a 14-7 bipartisan vote, helps address the challenges faced by news organizations that have seen revenue decline while Big Tech thrives.