The FCC Media Bureau granted requests for ESPN, Fox and MSNBC exemptions (see 1803120044 and 1803070052) to video description rules covering the top five national nonbroadcast networks. In its order in Friday's Daily Digest, the bureau said the OKs came since the three provide less than 50 hours per quarter of prime-time programming that isn't live or near-live. Given those petitions for exemptions, it said that effective July 1, the top five national nonbroadcast networks will be USA, HGTV, TBS, Discovery and History.

Facebook’s plan to group journalism with political advocacy content will blur the lines between reporting and propaganda, News Media Alliance CEO David Chavern wrote company CEO Mark Zuckerberg Friday. It threatens “to undermine journalism’s ability to play its critical role in society as the fourth estate,” Chavern said. Facebook didn’t comment.

Comcast announced a campaign by Internet Essentials, a broadband adoption initiative for low-income households, and members of the Conference of Western Attorneys General to address challenges seniors, parents and children face online. It follows the FTC estimating scammers swindled Americans out of nearly $1 billion last year, with more than $240 million occurring either online or via email, Comcast said. Younger people reported losing money to fraud more often than older people, said the FTC, with adults ages 20-29 making up 40 percent of those who filed FTC complaints reporting losing money to fraud, compared with 18 percent for age 70 and older. Via a Comcast grant, the nonprofit Connectsafely.org developed a multimedia internet safety toolkit for use by attorneys general across the country with up-to-date materials designed to address concerns of seniors, parents with school-age children and students.

UL warned building owners, installers and consumers Tuesday that installing double-ended direct replacement LED lamps in energized luminaires powered by magnetic 40-watt ballasts could pose a shock hazard. Recent UL tests showed that luminaires with magnetic ballasts intended for F40T12 fluorescent lamps may pose a risk of electric shock during installation of LED lamps intended for direct substitution of a fluorescent lamp while the circuit is energized, it said. UL hasn't received reports of persons receiving an electric shock while replacing lamps on the older magnetic 40-watt ballasts, which have not been sold for many years, but “given their prior widespread use, these magnetic ballasts may still be in service in some older installations,” it said. The safety organization recommends all luminaires be de-energized during lamp installation or replacement.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board’s request to modify FTC’s safe-harbor program “would reduce privacy protections for children below the already low bar set by” the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), said the Center for Digital Democracy in a letter to the agency Monday. The videogame industry proposed amending a self-regulatory program the agency approved under COPPA (see 1804020044). ESRB’s proposal would eliminate a COPPA requirement for annual compliance reviews, among other concerns, said CDD, which wrote the joint letter with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The letter asked the FTC to reject ESRB’s application unless it corrects several problems. “Children’s privacy is too important to allow safe-harbor providers to weaken their programs,” it said. The FTC and ESRB didn’t comment.

Apple should continue offering paid music downloads, which benefit the music industry and consumers, the Content Creators Coalition said Wednesday in a letter to Apple Music Vice President Oliver Schusser. Reports indicate Apple is considering eliminating the service, but the company has dismissed them as inaccurate, the group wrote: “Even with the rise of streaming, downloads continue to supply 15% of industry revenues, a vital pillar in the many-legged-stool it takes to make a successful music career." The company didn’t comment.

Legacy pay-TV operators need to "stress test" their business models and work on liquidity and cost-cutting plans now, before the next economic downturn, The Diffusion Group senior adviser Joel Espelien blogged Tuesday. He said subscriber loss trends show the industry is unequivocally unhealthy, with declines to come regardless of whatever steps -- like promotions, discounts or bundles -- management takes in response. But the industry "is barely treading water" now in a strong economy with low unemployment, and today's manageable subs losses will likely accelerate -- perhaps to levels like 250,000 per quarter -- in the next serious downturn, he said: That could leave some weaker or heavily indebted pay-TV companies facing bankruptcy or insolvency.

Facebook expanded its appeals process to include individual posts removed for nudity, sexual activity, hate speech and graphic violence, the platform announced Tuesday, publishing internal enforcement guidelines. The appeals process was previously reserved for profiles, pages and groups removed from the platform. A Community Operations team typically reviews requests within 24 hours, the company said, and if the platform decides there has been a mistake, the post, photo or video in question will be restored. The House Judiciary Committee has a hearing Thursday to discuss online content censorship (see 1804200049).

After several years of truce, organizers of Berlin’s IFA show renewed their war of words with CES over which event reigns supreme in the world of consumer tech shows. IFA “is literally covering the world,” and is “undisputedly the No. 1 consumer electronics show,” Christian Goke, CEO of Messe Berlin, told the IFA global news conference Saturday in Rome. It’s true, “there are other tech events in the U.S., and they are formally known as CE shows,” said Goke. “But let’s be honest. It’s not always that easy to understand how these shows are structured. Sometimes it’s not that easy to go from hall to hall and hotel to hotel, even when the lights are on. For many brands, it’s always a bit of a gamble if you make your mark there are not. Which is sort of fitting, given the location.” Goke’s remarks on the lights were a reference to the blackout that struck the Las Vegas Convention Center Jan. 10 on Day 2 of CES (see 1801110030). The remarks prompted one journalist in Q&A to ask Goke why he denigrated CES to promote IFA, when IFA and CES are very different shows, serving different purposes with different audiences. Goke responded: “There was no denigration intended at all.” CTA representatives didn’t comment Monday but in the past have defended CES as having superior attendance and exhibit data as verified by global auditing authorities (see 1712140005).

ZTE delayed release of Q1 results due Thursday after the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security denied export privileges to the Chinese equipment maker for seven years (see 1804170018). The delay is necessary “pending an assessment on the impacts of the activation of denial order,” the company said Wednesday. “Further announcement(s) will be made by the Company in respect of the date of the Board meeting to approve the 2018 First Quarterly Report as and when appropriate.”