Ars Technica

In what is likely a first in the industry, Vizio is on the verge of agreeing to display a class-action lawsuit message through its previously sold "Smart TV" televisions as part of a legal settlement. This message is meant to alert customers who bought the TV that they will be party to the forthcoming settlement and likely will get a small amount of money. The manufacturer has been under scrutiny since a 2015 revelation that it was snooping on its customers.

Frontier Communications is asking employees for help in its fight against state network neutrality rules in CA, claiming that the rules will give "free" Internet to major Web companies while raising costs for consumers. The Internet service provider urged employees to submit a form letter asking Gov Jerry Brown (D-CA) to veto the net neutrality bill that was recently approved by the state legislature. Frontier sent an email to employees and set up an online form for them to send the form letter to Gov Brown.

Twitter is permanently banning right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his “Infowars” show for abusive behavior. Twitter said Sept 6 that Jones won't be allowed to create new accounts on Twitter or take over any existing ones. The company said Jones posted a video Sept 5 that violated the company's policy against “abusive behavior.” The video in question showed Jones shouting at and berating CNN journalist Oliver Darcy for some 10 minutes between two congressional hearings focused on social media.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, appointed to the post by President Donald Trump, wants to remove a majority of wireless providers that participate in the Lifeline program, in an attempt to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.” If such a move were made, the “chaos would be magnificent,” said David Dorwart, the chairman of the National Lifeline Association (NaLA), a trade organization that represents Lifeline businesses.

The California Senate voted on Aug 31 to approve the toughest state-level net neutrality bill in the US, one day after the California Assembly took the same action. The bill would prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or throttling lawful traffic and from requiring fees from websites or online services to deliver or prioritize their traffic to consumers. The bill would also ban paid data cap exemptions (so-called "zero-rating").

T-Mobile's proposed acquisition of Sprint would harm competitors and consumers, particularly in rural America, lobby groups for small carriers say. The Rural Wireless Association (RWA), NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, and other groups filed petitions urging the Federal Communications Commission to block the T-Mobile/Sprint merger this week. "Removing Sprint from the equation through further industry consolidation will result in less competition which will drive prices higher for consumers, and would be decidedly contrary to the public interest," the RWA said.

A campaign to stop network neutrality rules in California is targeting senior citizens with robocalls claiming that the rules will raise cell phone bills by $30 a month and slow down their data. The robocalls cite no evidence supporting the claim that net neutrality rules will raise cell phone bills and slow down Internet service. The bill in question would impose net neutrality rules in California that are nearly identical to the ones the Federal Communications Commission had on the books between 2015 and 2018.

On Aug 17, Google quietly edited its description of the practice on its own website—while continuing said practice—to clarify that "some location data may be saved as part of your activity on other services, like Search and Maps." As a result of the previously unknown practice, Google has now been sued by a man in San Diego (CA). Simultaneously, activists in Washington (DC) are urging the Federal Trade Commission to examine whether the company is in breach of its 2011 consent decree with the agency.