FOR RELEASE: January 2, 2021 Contact: Richard T. Kaplar The Media Institute 703-243-5700 Arlington, Va., January 2, 2021 – Media Institute President Richard T. Kaplar issued the following statement on the passing of Richard Bates of The Walt Disney Co.: “Richard Bates was a valued member of The Media Institute’s Board of Trustees from [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-30-20 Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled Dec. 30 that the Senate would not be voting on the House-passed Bill (H.R. 9051) providing $2,000 COVID-19 relief check – a figure suggested by President Trump – essentially adding the poison pill of Sec. 230 to any vote on such relief, something Democrats [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-29-20 Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that this week the Senate "will begin a process" of bringing the priority of reviewing and potentially revising Sec. 230 "into focus." That came in his opening remarks on the Senate floor Dec. 29 as the Senate prepared to vote Dec. 30 [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the European Court of Human Rights in Biancardi v. Italy. The case involves the “right to be forgotten,” which gives users the ability to request that search engines de-list or de-index search results on the basis of a person’s name. [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-23-20 As promised, President Trump has vetoed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, a massive defense policy bill that he had opposed for, among other things, that it did not include amendments that would have taken aim at social media's Sec. 230 immunity from civil liability over third-party content moderation. [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-23-20 Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), fresh off the passage of his bill that would make illegal streaming a felony in some cases, has introduced a discussion draft of major copyright reform legislation that has computer companies fuming and studios gently applauding. “The Motion Picture Association commends Senator Tillis and his [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-21-20 The House and Senate both voted late Monday (Dec. 21) on a paired-up package of a COVID-19 relief bill and an omnibus government spending bill loaded with billions of dollars for broadband, new small business loan aid for broadcasters, and a provision making the theft of video streams [...]
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 Microsoft Corp. v. U.S. In 2019, Microsoft challenged a government order under the Stored Communications Act prohibiting the company from telling anyone that it had received a search warrant for [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-18-20Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), which reportedly supplies Qualcomm, Broadcom, and others, has been put on the Department of Commerce's Entities List, meaning U.S. manufacturers are presumptively barred from selling to the company.It joins other prominent Chinese tech giants, including Huawei and ZTE, on that list of [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-17-20 Google is getting hit with the legal equivalent of a swarm as more states join to sue over antitrust concerns. A day after a Texas Republican Attorney General-led group of almost a dozen GOP state AGs filed suit against Google alleging monopolistic practices. A New York Democrat AG-led group [...]