As we previously reported, in October 2014 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against AT&T in federal court alleging that AT&T’s “throttling” practices for mobile broadband subscribers who were “grandfathered” into the company’s unlimited mobile data plan were unfair and deceptive in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.  On Monday,…
Continue Reading AT&T Challenges FTC Jurisdiction Over Non-Common Carrier Activities of Common Carriers

The FCC announced in a recent Public Notice that it will extend the deadline for compliance with its new television closed captioning quality rules until March 16, 2015.

Previously scheduled to go into effect on January 15, 2015, the quality rules establish standards for television closed captioning concerning (1) accuracy, (2) synchronicity, (3) completeness, and…
Continue Reading FCC Extends Deadline for Compliance with Television Closed Captioning Quality Rules

On December 19, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) relating to the designation of certain online video programming distributors as “multichannel video programming distributors” (MVPDs) under the Communications Act.  This NPRM raises important and complex issues for the content community and has implications for other statutory regimes as well as existing program licensing and distribution agreements.
Continue Reading FCC Tentatively Concludes that Certain Online Video Distributors are MPVDs

In a recent Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), the FCC announced that it is seeking comment on proposals that would require video programmers to file contact information and closed captioning certifications with the FCC.  Specific topics on which the FCC is seeking comment include the following:

  • Whether video programmers should be required to file

…
Continue Reading FCC Seeks Comment on Requiring Video Programmers to File Contact Information, Closed Captioning Certifications

Speaking at last week’s CRA Competition Conference in Brussels, Alex Chisholm, Chief Executive of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), suggested that competition authorities confronted with antitrust allegations against tech giants should “separate the signal from the noise and the sound from the fury”.  His remarks were made against the backdrop of the…

Continue Reading Competition in digital markets: head of the CMA urges to separate the signal from the noise

The STELA Reauthorization Act (“STELAR”) has been signed into law by the President.  STELAR extends the statutory copyright license for satellite carriage of distant signals for another five years (through December 31, 2019).  It also extends through January 1, 2020 the statutory good faith negotiation requirement imposed on broadcasters and MVPDs for retransmission consent negotiations.  As discussed below, it makes several other changes to the Communications Act and to the Copyright Act.
Continue Reading STELAR (STELA Reauthorization) Enacted

This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a stay of an FCC order that would have made hundreds of thousands of pages of highly confidential unredacted programming distribution and negotiation strategy documents available for inspection by third parties.  The disclosure of these materials would have occurred as part of the…
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Extends Stay in Battle Over Access to Content Companies’ Confidential Information

The FCC was set to release today hundreds of thousands of pages of highly confidential documents — including unredacted programming distribution agreement materials and negotiating strategy documents — for inspection by third parties as part of the Commission’s review of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable and AT&T-DIRECTV mergers.  On Friday, November 14, however, a coalition of the largest broadcast and cable networks (“Content Companies”) won a temporary stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which halted the FCC’s disclosure of such documents and ordered briefing to help it decide whether the companies’ confidential pricing and negotiation information should be released by the FCC.
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Grants Stay in Battle Over Access to Content Companies’ Confidential Information

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau issued an advisory reminding political campaigns about the restrictions placed on the use of autodialed calls, prerecorded calls, and text messages by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) and the FCC’s corresponding rules.  The Enforcement Bureau warns that it is “closely monitoring this space” and will “rigorously enforce…
Continue Reading FCC Issues “Enforcement Advisory” Warning Political Campaigns and Promoters Against Robocall Abuse

On Wednesday, May 7, Covington attorneys Stefanie Doebler and Saurabh Anand will be participating in a webinar that might be of interest to many of the readers of this blog.  The presentation, entitled “Advertising Drugs and Health Care Products via Social Media,” will provide attendees with an overview of a recent FDA draft guidance addressing…
Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar: “Advertising Drugs and Health Care Products via Social Media: FDA Regulation”