By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-23-20 Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), fresh off the passage of his bill that would make illegal streaming a felony in some cases, has introduced a discussion draft of major copyright reform legislation that has computer companies fuming and studios gently applauding. “The Motion Picture Association commends Senator Tillis and his [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-21-20 The House and Senate both voted late Monday (Dec. 21) on a paired-up package of a COVID-19 relief bill and an omnibus government spending bill loaded with billions of dollars for broadband, new small business loan aid for broadcasters, and a provision making the theft of video streams [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Microsoft Corp. v. U.S. In 2019, Microsoft challenged a government order under the Stored Communications Act prohibiting the company from telling anyone that it had received a search warrant for [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-18-20Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), which reportedly supplies Qualcomm, Broadcom, and others, has been put on the Department of Commerce's Entities List, meaning U.S. manufacturers are presumptively barred from selling to the company.It joins other prominent Chinese tech giants, including Huawei and ZTE, on that list of [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-17-20 Google is getting hit with the legal equivalent of a swarm as more states join to sue over antitrust concerns. A day after a Texas Republican Attorney General-led group of almost a dozen GOP state AGs filed suit against Google alleging monopolistic practices. A New York Democrat AG-led group [...]
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By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-16-20 In his state's second bite at the Google antitrust suit apple, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday (Dec. 16) that he is leading a multi-state lawsuit – teaming with other Republican AGs – against Google for anticompetitive conduct, exclusionary conduct, and deceptive misrepresentations related to online advertising. [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-16-20 As the tenure of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his deregulatory Republican majority winds down, D.C. policy watchers are looking for action on some big issues yet to be resolved one way or the other. While the regulatory wheels often grind slowly, with the change in administrations coming [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-15-20 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has introduced a bill that would sunset social media networks' Sec. 230 immunity from civil liability for third-party content moderation. The sunset would not come until Jan. 1, 2023, so the bill is more like a spur to some kind of reform to the [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-11-20 China Telecom (Americas) appears to be working hard to try and prevent the FCC from revoking its licenses to operate in the U.S. On Thursday (Dec. 10), the FCC voted unanimously to initiate a revocation proceeding against the company after several federal agencies recommended that action, citing the [...]