By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-26-21 Based on new documents from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (being dubbed “The Facebook Papers”), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), chair of the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee, said it was just more evidence that the social media platform has “chronically ignored serious internal alarms.” Blumenthal has called on Facebook to [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in CoreCivic, Inc. v. Candide Group. This appeal arises from a defamation suit brought by CoreCivic, a private prison company, against Morgan Simon, a senior contributor at Forbes who also runs [...]
FOR RELEASE: October 26, 2021 Contact: Richard T. Kaplar The Media Institute 703-243-5700 Arlington, Va., October 26, 2021 – Media Institute President Richard T. Kaplar issued the following statement in response to President Joe Biden’s announcement that he intends to nominate Jessica Rosenworcel as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission and Gigi Sohn as an [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department in VIP Pet Grooming Studio, Inc. v. Sproule. Robert Sproule wrote one-star Yelp and Google reviews of VIP, alleging the studio was responsible for his dog’s death. VIP sued Sproule and [...]
By Mike Farrell, Multichannel News, 10-22-21 The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday that it will make $1.15 billion in federal loans and grants available to expand high-speed Internet access in rural communities across the country through its ReConnect Program, part of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.... To be eligible for ReConnect Program [...]
FOR RELEASE: October 22, 2021 Contact: Richard T. Kaplar The Media Institute 703-243-5700 Arlington, Va., October 22, 2021 – Media Institute President Richard T. Kaplar issued the following statement in response to the announcement by NCTA executive Rob Stoddard that he plans to retire on Jan. 3, 2022: “Rob Stoddard will be sorely missed, not [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-21-21 Computer companies are pushing back on a proposal by broadcasters to extend the user fees broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite companies pay the Federal Communications Commission to Big Tech companies that benefit from unlicensed spectrum the FCC oversees. The Consumer Technology Association responded to the National Association of [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-21-21 The Senate has passed the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, which could free up potentially hundreds of billions more for broadband buildouts, and without any additional legislation. States got $1.9 trillion in Congress's COVID-19 rescue legislation earlier this year, [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-21-21 The FTC has concluded that ISPs are collecting and sharing more data about their customers than those customers are aware of, including Internet traffic and real-time location data, while "failing to offer consumers meaningful choices about how this data can be used." FTC Chair Lina Khan said the [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-20-21 The House has passed four communications-related bills including one that would expand the ban on suspect tech. All four passed out of the House Energy & Commerce Committee last summer by voice vote, meaning none were controversial. They all must still be passed by the Senate to make [...]