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Telecommunications
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April 25, 2024
FCC Restores Net Neutrality Rules In Party-Line Vote
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 on party lines Thursday to bring back the Obama-era net neutrality regime by reclassifying broadband service under the Communications Act and making it subject to common carrier telecom rules.
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April 24, 2024
Class Attys Seek $218M Fee Award In Google 'Incognito' Deal
Attorneys from three firms urged a California federal judge to award them $217.6 million in fees after reaching a settlement with Google in which the search giant agreed to delete billions of data records related to users' private browsing activities, with a Google representative blasting the fee bid as an attempt to "line their own pockets."
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April 24, 2024
FCC OKs Detroit TV Deal — If Certain Conditions Are Met
The Federal Communications Commission approved the $75 million sale of a Michigan-based television station to Mission Broadcasting, but conditioned the sale on terms meant to ensure that Nexstar, the country's largest TV station group owner, does not have de facto control of the station.
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April 24, 2024
NFL Can't Tell Jurors Attys Fueled Sunday Ticket Suit
With an antitrust trial in long-running multidistrict litigation between the NFL and DirecTV subscribers over the league's Sunday Ticket football package set to kick off this summer, the judge overseeing the case is laying down the law about what can and can't be told to the jury.
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April 24, 2024
Pacifica Will Pay $25K For Station Ad Violations, FCC Says
Pacifica Foundation Inc. has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine and enter into a compliance plan to resolve allegations that it allowed an iconic New York public radio station to air several shows promoting products without identifying the program sponsors.
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April 24, 2024
DOJ Wants To Weigh In On Texas Google Ad Tech Discovery
The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge Wednesday for permission to file a statement of interest in a Texas-led lawsuit accusing Google of anticompetitive conduct in the display advertising market, writing that the states' request for certain discovery items may violate an order in a substantially similar suit the DOJ is pursuing in Virginia.
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April 24, 2024
TikTok To Take Divestment Bill To Court
TikTok vowed on Wednesday to challenge in court new legislation requiring ByteDance Ltd. to divest the popular social media app or face a ban in the U.S., a pledge made the same day President Biden signed the measure into law.
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April 24, 2024
'Net Neutrality' Timeline: From Brand X To Biden-Era Brawl
The legal fight over how to treat broadband service hits a new milestone Thursday in Washington, the latest in a dispute that started a generation ago, soon after consumers began widely using the internet in the 1990s.
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April 24, 2024
Congress Didn't OK FCC's 'Disparate Impact' Ban, Critics Say
Business groups told the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday that the Federal Communications Commission's new rules against discrimination in broadband deployment should be overturned because Congress never intended that the agency use a sweeping "disparate impact" liability standard.
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April 24, 2024
Group Fights SpaceX's FCC Grants After Musk's Actions In War
A pro-Ukraine nonprofit is urging the Federal Communications Commission to halt spectrum assignments to Elon Musk's SpaceX and launch an investigation into the CEO's "erratic" behavior, arguing that his alleged meddling in U.S. foreign policy could disqualify him from exercising control over the company's Starlink satellite network system.
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April 24, 2024
Noteholders Say Chilean Telecom Lacks US Ties For Ch. 11
A group of WOM SA noteholders asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to dismiss the Chilean cellphone network operator's Chapter 11 case, saying the company has no connections with the United States and courts here don't have jurisdiction over the company's assets.
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April 23, 2024
10th Circ. Orders Redo Of $96M Award After Top Court Ruling
The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday ordered an Oklahoma federal court to recalculate a $96 million trademark infringement award won by a radio control maker against its European former partners after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the Lanham Act applies only to domestic conduct in commerce.
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April 23, 2024
New Ga. Law Restricts Social Media Use For Youth Under 16
A bill signed into law Tuesday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp imposes new restrictions on minors' internet usage, including requiring social media companies to verify that users are 16 or older unless they receive approval from an individual's parents to use the service.
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April 23, 2024
TikTok Divestment Bill Heads To Biden's Desk
The Senate voted 79-18 on Tuesday night to pass a bill requiring ByteDance Ltd. to divest the popular social media app TikTok or face a ban in the U.S., which now goes to the president's desk.
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April 23, 2024
Small Providers Can't Meet 'Vague' Title II Rules, FCC Hears
Small broadband providers will need at least a six-month buffer before they have to start complying with certain net neutrality mandates, should the Federal Communications Commission vote to restore open internet rules on Thursday, according to a communications industry trade group.
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April 23, 2024
ACLU Backs States' Power To Preempt Feds' Net Neutrality
The ACLU is a supporter of the Federal Communications Commission's plans to usher in a new era of net neutrality later this month, but the civil rights organization is also pressing the agency to make sure that states are free to enact stricter open internet protections if they see fit.
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April 23, 2024
Nexstar Calls FCC's Floated $1.2M Fine Over WPIX 'Unlawful'
Broadcast giant Nexstar slammed the Federal Communications Commission's proposed $1.2 million penalty over its "de facto control" of New York station WPIX, saying the fine is unconstitutional and that the agency is running afoul of both the Communications Act and procedural law.
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April 23, 2024
Hot Spot Co. Investors' Revised $2.4M Deal Gets Initial OK
Investors in mobile hotspot-maker Franklin Wireless Corp. have received an initial green light for their $2.4 million deal to end claims the company knowingly sold devices with defective batteries that could burst into flames after a federal judge rejected an earlier iteration of the proposal.
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April 23, 2024
Broadcasters Support Bill To Revive Diversity Tax Certificate
Broadcasters are supporting the recent reintroduction of a bill that seeks to increase diversity in the broadcasting industry by requiring the Federal Communications Commission to bring back a tax incentive program to facilitate the sale of broadcast stations to people of color and women.
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April 22, 2024
T-Mobile Can't Dodge Stolen Nude Photos Suit
T-Mobile can't dodge most of a suit seeking to hold the mobile behemoth liable for allegations that one of its employees stole nude photos from a customer's phone, which she turned in as part of a trade-in offer, a Washington federal court has ruled.
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April 22, 2024
FCC Fines AT&T, Internet Co. For Discussing Auction Bids
AT&T Services Inc. and AMG Technology Investment Group LLC have not been able to convince the Federal Communications Commission to kibosh a combined $175,000 in fines for talking to each other during the bidding process for an auction of funds to subsidize infrastructure build-out.
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April 22, 2024
FCC Eyes Rule Changes For Independent Video Programmers
The Federal Communications Commission plans to explore how federal rules can better help independent video programmers thrive in a competitive media landscape and may prohibit a pair of provisions that affect their contracts with distributors.
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April 22, 2024
Group Backs Net Neutrality, But Not Fees On Broadband
Despite supporting a planned net neutrality regime, media advocacy group Free Press has argued against using the new rules to impose fees on the broadband industry to support telecommunications subsidies, saying the idea would only harm consumers.
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April 22, 2024
Mich. Panel Drains $1.3M 1-800-Bathtub Arbitration Award
A Michigan appellate court affirmed slashing most of a $1.3 million arbitration award for the owner of the toll-free number 1-800-BATHTUB, pulling the plug on the owner's claim that a bathroom remodeling company stole the number.
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April 22, 2024
Mueller Industries To Buy Nehring Electrical For Up To $600M
Machinery industry company Mueller Industries Inc., advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, on Monday unveiled plans to buy Nehring Electrical Works Co. and some of its affiliates for up to $600 million in a deal that will provide Mueller with a platform for long-term growth in the electrical and power infrastructure space.
Expert Analysis
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Series
ESG Around The World: The UK
Following Brexit, the U.K. has adopted a different approach to regulating environmental, social and governance factors from the European Union — an approach that focuses on climate disclosures by U.K.-regulated entities, while steering clear of the more ambitious objectives pursued by the EU, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Opinion
Test Results Signal Poor Odds For Lead Cables Litigation
After sites in New York and New Jersey allegedly contaminated with lead by telecommunications cables were found by state and federal agencies to present no imminent threats to public health, it seems unlikely that mass litigation over this issue by plaintiffs firms or state attorneys general will succeed, says Andrew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.
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Opinion
Justices Should Nix Section 230 Immunity For Tech
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to decide two new cases that present another opening to curtail the broad immunity enjoyed by tech company-owned social media platforms under Section 230, and it's long past time for online publishers to be treated the same as traditional ones, says Douglas Mirell at Greenberg Glusker.
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To Comply With Campaign Finance Rules, Watch The Calendar
Corporations, campaigns and community advocates alike can all stay on the right side of federal campaign finance law during the 2024 election season by committing to observe the many overlapping dates and compliance windows that limit third-party coordination with candidates and electioneering communications, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Unpacking The FAR Council's Cybersecurity Rules Proposal
New reporting and information sharing requirements in the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed cybersecurity regulations would create new False Claims Act enforceability risks, and could be a focus for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative, say Townsend Bourne and Lillia Damalouji at Sheppard Mullin.
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Class Action Defense: Don't Give Up On Bristol-Myers Squibb
Federal appellate court decisions in the six years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb show that it's anyone's ballgame in class action jurisdictional arguments, so defendants are encouraged to consider carefully whether, where and when arguing lack of specific personal jurisdiction may be advantageous, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Diamond Sports Cases Shed Light On Executory Contracts
Recent Texas bankruptcy cases involving telecast fees payable by Diamond Sports to certain Major League Baseball teams provide a window into the dynamic relationship that can develop between debtors and counterparties under some executory contracts, say Joseph Badtke-Berkow and Robin Spigel at Allen & Overy.
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What To Watch As The FCC Leans Into National Security
Information and communications technology and services operators and investors should keep a close eye on the Federal Communications Commission's increasing activity in national security matters, which could slow transactions and subject providers to additional oversight, say David Plotinsky and Patricia Cave at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.
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How Cos. Can Prioritize Accessibility Amid Increase In Suits
The U.S. Department of Justice's notice of proposed rulemaking on digital accessibility and recent legal proceedings regarding tester plaintiff standing in accessibility cases show websites and mobile apps are a growing focus, so businesses must proactively ensure digital content complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, say attorneys at Hinckley Allen.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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Calif. GHG Disclosure Law Will Affect Companies Worldwide
California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, which will require comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions disclosures from large companies operating in the state, will mean compliance challenges for a wide range of industries, nationally and globally, as the law's requirements will ultimately trickle out and down, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
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New DOJ Roles Underscore National Security Focus
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent creation of two new leadership positions signals to the private sector that federal law enforcement is pouring resources into corporate investigations to identify potential national security violations, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.