By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 4-4-19 Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), author of the Children's Television Act, wants to extend and expand those regulations to better cover edge providers' kid-directed content as well. He is unveiling the bill Thursday (April 4) at the Truth About Tech Conference, sponsored by Common Sense, which has been [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 4-3-19 After over nine hours of debate, mostly failed amendments, and delays, legislation that would re-regulate internet access by reinstating the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order's Title II-based net neutrality rules is on its way to a vote in the full House next week, where it is likely [...]
By Christopher Bing, Reuters, 3-30-19 Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg called on Saturday for regulators to play a “more active role” in establishing rules that govern the internet, as the world’s largest social media network struggles to defuse criticism. Zuckerberg, whose company is under pressure for failing to adequately police content and protect user privacy [...]
By Susan Svrluga, washingtonpost.com, 3-21-19 President Trump signed an executive order Thursday protecting freedom of speech on college campuses, surrounded by student activists who have said conservative views are suppressed at universities. Trump said he was taking “historic action to defend American students and American values that have been under siege.” The order does not, [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-19-19 Facebook has settled complaints and lawsuits with the ACLU, Communications Workers of America, and the National Fair Housing Alliance over allegations that its paid ad platform allowed for discrimination in employment, housing, and credit advertising. In addition to changes in the platform, Facebook has also agreed to [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-18-19 President Donald Trump has once again recommended phasing out federal funding for noncommercial TV and radio--comprising about 15% of noncom's total budget--but if recent past is any guide, he does not have enough support in Congress on either side of the aisle. The phase-out was part of [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-13-19 Broadcasters and movie studios rate the TV content ratings/guideline system as working quite well, pointing to "public surveys" over a decade that show lots of folks are using the guidelines and that the ratings get "consistently high marks for accuracy." They also say the ratings oversight board [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-13-19 There was some bipartisan talk out of the Hill after all this week amidst the partisan – and policy-driven – rancor. At about the same time House Communications Subcommittee members seemed far apart on a bill that would restore FCC net neutrality rules, including some non-starter elements [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-4-19 The FCC has set comment dates on issues teed up in the 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review. Comments are due April 29 and reply comments May 29. The FCC is mandated by Congress to look at its broadcast ownership rules every four years to see if they remain [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-4-19 The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that with a few exceptions, a party can't sue for copyright infringement until the copyright has been registered, not starting when the proper paperwork for registration has been filed. An author gets exclusive rights to their work as soon as it [...]