By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-25-21 The FCC has voted unanimously to adopt the Emergency Broadband Benefit framework order, which stands up the $3.2-billion subsidy program passed by Congress as part of a December COVID-19 aid package. The plan is to open up the program to eligible households by April. As cable broadband providers [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the Michigan Supreme Court in AFT Michigan v. Project Veritas. The case involves whether Michigan’s wiretapping statutes prohibit recording a conversation without the consent of all parties to the conversation. The amicus brief urges the Michigan Supreme Court to adopt the [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-24-21 Consumer Reports is praising the Virginia legislature's passage of the Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), which would join California as the second state/commonwealth to pass its own privacy bill after a Democratic FCC effort to regulate privacy on the federal level was nullified. The Virginia bill applies everyone [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-24-21 House Democrats said their Wednesday (Feb. 24) hearing in the Communications Subcommittee entitled "Fanning the Flames: Disinformation and Extremism in the Media" was not an assault of the First Amendment or speech freedoms of those media, but an attempt to open a dialog and debate on their role [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-24-21 Net neutrality fans inside the Beltway are celebrating a Judge's decision to allow California's net neutrality law to go into effect. The law passed the California legislature, but enforcement had been delayed until the legal challenges from the Trump Justice Department – the Biden Justice Department withdrew its [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-23-21 House Democrats are accusing Facebook of knowingly "allowing extremist content and groups to grow" despite reportedly knowing through internal reviews that the platform's policies and recommendations were to blame for rapid dissemination of extremism and disinformation. The claim came in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg from [...]
FOR RELEASE: February 23, 2021 Contact: Richard T. Kaplar The Media Institute 703-243-5700 Arlington, Va., February 23, 2021 – Media Institute President Richard T. Kaplar issued the following statement regarding a letter from two House members to several media companies: “The letter from two members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to several [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-22-21 The return of rules against blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization is building momentum given that Congress is in the hands of Democrats, most of whom opposed deregulation of internet access, and the FCC is currently being helmed by Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, who strongly opposed deregulation under the previous [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-22-21 California Democratic Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney have written to a dozen cable, satellite, and streaming companies calling on them to better combat disinformation – which they principally identify as Fox, Newsmax, and One America News Network (OANN) – and grilling them on what they plan to do [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-19-21 The House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee plans to hold a series of hearings on proposed bills to rein in "the rise and abuse of market power online" and adjust antitrust laws accordingly. Both Republicans and Democrats have concerns that antitrust laws were not nimble enough to capture Web giants' [...]