By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-28-20 Verify and trust appears to be Big Tech's answer to threats of regulation over their moderation of content. Social media CEOs faced a gauntlet Wednesday (Oct. 28) at a highly anticipated and hotly charged hearing whose title signaled the tenor of the exchanges with the Republican majority: "Does [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-28-20 The Trump Justice Department has joined the President in arguing that Twitter and Facebook's restriction of access to a story in the New York Post about Hunter Biden is evidence that social media need regulating. That came in a letter from Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd to the [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-27-20 Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission are taking issue with Chairman Ajit Pai's announcement last week that the agency would clarify edge providers' Section 230 immunity from civil liability over third-party content, as the White House has asked. Pai also said he has been assured by Commission lawyers [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-27-20 The FCC has voted 3-2 along party lines to tell a federal court that the Commission's Restoring Internet Freedom (RIF) order promotes public safety, facilitates infrastructure deployment, and continues to allow the FCC to subsidize broadband Internet access service. It is now up to the U.S. Court of [...]
Participated with the Reporters Committee and 36 other media organizations and outlets in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding a proposed DHS rule that would limit the visa term for “I” visas, a special category exclusive to foreign journalists at news organizations with home offices overseas. The proposed rule would require [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-26-20 House Democrats are accusing the FCC of rushing a decision on an order responding to some issues a federal court had with the Commission's elimination of net neutrality rules. The legislators suggest FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is trying to get the decision out the door before an election [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-22-20 A bill that would limit the president – of either party's – ability to "shut down the Internet" has been introduced. It comes amid concerns in D.C. about the Trump Administration's attacks on social media and other Big Tech web players and its inquiry, or perhaps more, into nationalizing [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-22-20 The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Thursday (Oct. 22) to issue subpoenas to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The two are already scheduled to testify at a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee next week on Sec. 230 but Judiciary wants to do its own [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Turner v. U.S. Agency for Global Media. Five suspended senior executives at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) sued the agency and senior leadership, alleging numerous violations of the [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-21-20 The Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee wants to know if social media giants have been providing any data to the presidential campaigns. In advance of an Oct. 28 hearing on Big Tech and Section 230, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) sent letters to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and [...]