By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 8-17-20 Section 230 is the surviving section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, the rest of which was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. It allows social media sites to host third-party speech without being subject to legal action based on the content that is posted or what [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 8-17-20 California’s net neutrality law should be blocked because federal law pre-empts the state statute, the U.S. Justice Department argued in asking a federal judge to overturn a state law reviving many tenets of the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order. The Justice Department said federal statutes pre-empt the net [...]
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 La Liberte v. Reid. The brief supports the motion of MSNBC journalist Joy Reid for rehearing or rehearing en banc of the Second Circuit’s decision in this case, which reversed [...]
Participated in two amicus briefs (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Uniformed Fire Officers Association v. DeBlasio. The cases stem from the repeal of Section 50-a of the New [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 8-12-20 A federal appeals court has upheld most of the FCC's orders speeding the deployment of cell service buildouts by easing regulations on those 5G deployments, including pole attachments and various local reviews of buildouts. Specifically upheld were the Small Cell Order, the Moratoria Order, and the One Touch [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 8-11-20 Online video streaming site Vimeo has asked the FCC to "summarily and promptly" dismiss a petition by the Trump Administration asking the FCC to come up with a regime for regulating online speech. It said the Administration does not have the authority to ask the FCC for the [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 8-11-20 The Trump Administration is making 100 MHz of midband spectrum available for FCC auction by December 2021, according to the White House, and use by commercial 5G providers at full power ASAP, at least on the government timeline. The move was billed as strengthening U.S. leadership in 5G. [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 8-10-20 Broadcasters are ramping up the pressure, and the rhetoric, in their attempt to get the FCC to hold off on increasing the regulatory fees it charges TV and radio stations, especially during a pandemic that has done a number on revenue. The FCC supports itself through its [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 8-10-20 Broadband operators are asking the FCC to clarify that they don’t have to pay the entire cost of a replacement pole when they are seeking attachments to build out broadband to unserved communities, something the agency itself is pushing for in trying to close the digital divide. [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Alasaad v. Wolf. The central question in this case is whether the border search exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement can be extended to electronic devices, including those of journalists. [...]