Regulation

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.

Katherine Maher, the radio network’s new chief executive, has been in the spotlight since an editor published an essay accusing the organization of leftward-leaning bias.

The FCC announced on Tuesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Trade Commission taking back some oversight duties over broadband providers. The MOU dissolves the agencies’ 2017 agreement in which the FTC took on enforcement duties after the Trump-era FCC repealed net neutrality rules and reduced its authority over ISPs. The FCC voted to restore those rules last week and reclassify broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.

The New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post and other papers filed the lawsuit Tuesday in a New York federal court.

Hunter Biden is threatening to sue Fox News for defamation, exploitation of his image and publication of hacked photographs, according to a letter obtained by Axios that was sent to the news channel last week. It’s the latest salvo in the president’s son’s more aggressive legal and press strategy over the past year amid criminal charges and tabloid coverage, and first big move after navigating the impeachment inquiry into his father.

Scott R. Flick: “On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced a new rule banning employee noncompete agreements, treating them as harmful and an ‘unfair method of competition.’  This includes noncompetes in the broadcast industry, where they serve a vital purpose that was given short shrift by the FTC.

The Korean American believes a Black tycoon was favored because of government’s diversity goals.

Major internet providers once again will have to abide by a set of robust rules of the road, prohibiting them from blocking or throttling traffic, as the FCC today reinstated net neutrality regulations. The commission voted 3-2 along party lines to adopt the rules, which broadly prohibit Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and other providers from favoring some types of internet traffic over others. The latest net neutrality rules resemble those adopted in 2015, when the FCC voted to reclassify internet service like a common carrier, or the same regulatory designation given to phone service.

The nation’s biggest business lobbying group and a national tax-services firm have sued the Federal Trade Commission.