Participated in an amicus letter (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the Supreme Court of Washington in Does 1-6 v. Seattle Police Department, et al. The case concerns six Seattle police officers who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. The Seattle Police Department opened misconduct [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in National Press Photographers Association v. McCraw, a First Amendment challenge to Texas’s drone regulations. The brief highlights the uses of drones in journalism and argues that Chapter 423 of [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-22-21 Computer companies are suing Texas over a law that prevents social media censorship based on “viewpoint,” saying nothing is a clearer First Amendment violation than regulation based on viewpoint. The bill, which passed Sept. 9, “prohibits an interactive computer service from censoring a user, a user’s expression, or [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-22-21 Facebook took unfriendly fire from both sides of the aisle Tuesday (Sept. 21) in a Senate Judiciary Committee Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on Big Data. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Facebook witness Steve Satterfield, VP of privacy and public policy, that the company needed to supply a witness to [...]
Participated in an amicus letter brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) in In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, a multi-district litigation consolidated in the Southern District of New York. The amicus letter relates to a second amended complaint filed by the state co-plaintiffs in Texas, et al. v. Google LLC. The second amended complaint [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-16-21 FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said that the best way to fund the FCC’s Universal Service Fund advanced communications subsidies is to make Big Tech pay the freight. Citing a new study from economist Hal Singer and Ted Tatos, Carr said that the current method of assessing dwindling traditional [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-14-21 A pair of powerful senators have launched a bipartisan congressional investigation into Facebook's alleged "coverup" of the impact of its platforms on teens and children, tapping a Facebook whistleblower in that effort. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-13-21 President Joe Biden has nominated Alvaro Bedoya as commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. He will replace Democratic Commissioner Rohi Chopra, who has been named to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If he is confirmed, Bedoya, who has been critical of facial recognition tech and is a [...]
FOR RELEASE: September 10, 2021Contact: Richard T. KaplarThe Media Institute703-243-5700Arlington, Va., September 10, 2021 – An accomplished TV journalist and a leading figure in the growth of the telecom industry will present awards at The Media Institute’s “Free Speech America” Virtual Gala on Oct. 20.“CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King will present the Freedom of Speech [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-9-21 The Federal Trade Commission continues its move to more aggressively vet mergers in general and tech mergers in particular, signaling it will be releasing some data next week on tech mergers that have heretofore flown under the antitrust enforcement radar, and proposing other steps to boost its regulatory [...]