FCC's Unsung Staff Enable New Technology Progress
Sure, Disney (rightly) gets attention. But this is the @FCC doing its job and doing it well. Folks who are hating the agency need to remember that the dedicated staff there do a vital set of jobs that y'all never notice but make new technology possible.
Disney Spends $16M on Bogus Lawsuit, Still Getting Squeezed
Disney, what do you call paying $16M to settle a bogus lawsuit, only to keep getting squeezed? A: Paying Dongeld
Nexstar's Antitrust Timing Raises Questions on Power Flex
Not sure why I am not allowed to reply to @brianstelter post, but I think Nexstar/Tegna and Sinclair silence has more to do with pending antitrust case. Is this really the time for Nexstar to flex and demonstrate its power...
Broadcast Law Surge Revives FCC Veterans Like Y2K
I am doing more broadcast law in one day than I have done for the last 15 years. @BrendanCarrFCC is doing for FCC lawyers what Y2K did for programmers. Make old-timers relevant again.
License Renewals Are Tedious, but FCC Revocation Is Rare
And during that entire time, the licensee keeps the license. BUT -- needing to drop everything to do all your license renewals early is a major, expensive time-consuming pain in the butt. And you are under the microscope. You can get...
Current Admin Greenlights Foreign Sovereign Fund Stakes Un
In any other Administration, approving foreign sovereign wealth funds for up to 20% voting equity interest (along with other foreign ownership) would be unthinkable. https://t.co/C7ITRkiJS9
Warner Bros Acquisitions Crash, Raising Prices and Layoffs
My colleague Patrick Gallaher traces the history of the last decade of Warner Bros. acquisitions. TL;DR, every super-genius who bought this company crashed like Acme rocket roller-skate users, but we all got burned with higher prices and massive layoffs
Broken 1994 Guarantees Undermine Trust in Global Commitments
As I noted when we failed to do jack about Russia taking Crimea. Why should anyone trust us -- or other nations thar signed those guarantees in '94?
Strong Arguments, yet Recent Jurisprudence Clouds Outcome
I think counsel for both sides argued well. Good lawyering all around. But Court's recent jurisprudence on both 7th Amen and Hobbs Act makes this super confusing and outcome hard to call.
SCOTUS Oral Argument Confusing without Visual Cues
Today's SCOTUS oral argument in VZ v. FCC was extremely confusing, not least of which bcause the audio only livestream makes it hard for those of us who do not know the justices by voice to follow easily. Sometime Roberts...
FCC's Weak Merger Enforcement Meets NATE's Build America Push
The @FCC enforcement of merger conditions is not exactly stellar. But @BrendanCarrFCC has courted NATE as a major constituency in the "Build America" agenda, so we'll see what happens.
States Still Have Teeth Despite Recent Court Losses
The lesson from today's LiveNation verdict combined with the Nxstr/Tgna TRO -- states have teeth. People seem to think that since the states lost TMO/Sprint that Fed support was sufficient. Think again.
FTC Mandates AI Disclosures Like Influencer Ads
The same FTC law (Section 5) that requires search engines, influencers and others to disclose sponsored content applies to AI. The disclosure these guys do doesn't happen out of the goodness of their hearts.
Track Prison Drones, Not Just Jam Cellphones
I actually think giving prisons authority to track and down drones entering prison airspace is a better idea than jamming cellphones. For one thing, drones smuggle in a lot more than cell phones. (BTW, this is not the FCC Carr....
Nexstar TRO Questions DOJ’s Presumption of Regularity
In light of the #Nexstar TRO it is worth asking how much the death of the "presumption of regularity" is hitting DoJ generally -- including antitrust. If NXSTR banked on DoJ seal of approval, is that going to backfire?
Cox V. Sony Undermines Original Intent of Section 512
I like the Cox v. Sony result, but it does seem contrary to what the intent of the drafters of Sec. 512 actually intended in 1998. Mind you, this confusion is in part a measure of the effed-up process by...
FCC Call Center Rule May Violate EEO National Origin Ban
Anyone else look at the @FCC call center item? Am I the only one who sees a conflict with the EEO Act prohibition on national origin discrimination? Also some serious problems with our free trade agreements. /1
Eight States Sue Nexstar, Tegna Over Local News Antitrust
8 states file antitrust complaint against NXST/TGNA. https://t.co/ezHdcMNmdr Interesting complaint in that it goes after retrans and degredation of local news coverage as a consumer welfare/loss of competing product issue. /1
License Revocations Under 47 USC 312(a)(4) Are Uphill Battles
I assume that when @BrendanCarrFCC refers to license revocations, he means via 47 USC 312(a)(4). This is, to put it mildly, a very uphill fight and the broadcaster keeps the license until final resolution. /1
1984 Federal Preemption Turned Cable Rights-of-Way Into Monopolies
This. Folks might want to go back and see how localities leveraged access to ROWs for cable to get franchise fees and PEG (and how fed preemption in '84 created cable monopolies with crap service.)
Sovereign Wealth Funds and Broadcast Licenses: 310(a) Implications?
Looking for the collective wisdom of the platform. Has there ever been a case where a sovereign wealth fund has taken an interest (passive or active) in a bcast license? And did it trigger 310(a)?
30 Years Later: Telecomm Act's Enduring Impact
Join @publicknowledge & @HowardUCOMM tomorrow (2/24)to celebrate 30th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996! @RepMcClellan, policy advocates & academics explore the lasting legacy of this cornerstone of communication policy. RSVP https://t.co/to98DpEh9L
Data Centers Anchor Community Fiber Deployments
The idea of data centers as anchor tenants for fiber in communities is a good one.