LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters and broadcast CEOs believe the FCC’s Future of TV Initiative (see 2304170056) will speed the ATSC 3.0 transition and that datacasting revenue could start flowing to TV stations as early as 2024, they said on panels Tuesday at the NAB Show 2023.
Country of origin cases
PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) challenged state enforcers Tuesday to collaboratively address privacy and social media issues, speaking at a National Association of Attorneys General meeting. North Carolina AG Josh Stein (D) asked an algorithms panel later for suggestions on what states can do amid a rise of AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
LAS VEGAS -- The structure of FCC regulatory fees and the way they’re applied to broadcasters is a thorny issue that's complicated to change, but this year’s fees will be “closer to a regulatory fee balance,” said David Strickland, media adviser to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, on a panel at the NAB Show Monday. , Media Bureau staff and 10th-floor aides in panels also discussed AM inclusion in cars, media ownership, virtual MPVDs and other topics. The FCC has authority to add Big Tech companies to the payor base, said Adam Cassady, media adviser to Commissioner Nathan Simington: “It may be time for a broad rethinking” of the regulatory fee structure.
The deadline for nominations for membership to the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee is being extended to May 12, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said Thursday. The original deadline was April 7.
House Commerce Committee Democrats asked TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew Thursday to commit to not selling American data to third parties, including Chinese parent company ByteDance.
The California Assembly Privacy Committee advanced legislation Tuesday that would hold online platforms liable for knowingly, recklessly or negligently helping facilitate child sex trafficking.
The complicated series of transactions in the Standard/Tegna deal and the companies’ own submission of “narrowly crafted” concessions at a “late stage” of the process led to the protracted review of the purchase and subsequent hearing process (see [Ref;2304040063]), said the FCC in a partially redacted response filing Tuesday (docket 23-1084) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The broadcasters' response is due Friday.
An FCC order requiring mobile providers to block texts on the do not originate list and maintain a point of contact for texters to report erroneously blocked texts is effective May 11, said a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register (see 2303170056). Commissioners adopted the order in March.
Statistics show FTC efforts to combat foreign robocalls are curbing the amount of illegal calls, the agency said Tuesday. The FTC’s Project Point of No Entry identified 24 “target point of entry service providers responsible for routing and transmitting illegal robocalls between 2021 and 2023,” the agency said, noting most illegal robocalls originate overseas. Industry Traceback Group data shows “22 of the 24 targets significantly curbed or altogether stopped the flow of illegal robocalls entering the country over their networks” after agency contact, the FTC said. Before agency contact, the targets had a combined 1,043 tracebacks, which dropped to 196 after the targets were informed of the legal ramifications, the FTC said. It can seek civil penalties and court injunctions against Telemarketing Sales Rule violations. “Of the 196, 147 are linked to two uncooperative providers, one of which is subject to an FCC law enforcement action,” the FTC said.
The FCC is seeking comment on an NAB petition for an additional extension of a waiver of a 2013 rule requiring broadcasters to provide audio description on a second audio stream of emergency information conveyed through graphics, said a public notice in docket 12-107 Monday. Compliance was originally required by 2015, but the agency granted an 18-month waiver and has repeatedly extended it, most recently by five years in 2018. NAB requested a two-year extension for the current waiver, which expires May 26. NAB says it remains “unable to identify a workable solution based on existing technology that can perform the functions required by the rule,” the PN said. “We seek comment on NAB’s request, including whether two years is the appropriate timeframe for any extension.” Comments are due April 24, replies May 1.