Developments in telecommunications policy being made in the legal system.
Court case
John Malone and Charter Directors Agree to $87.5 Million Settlement
John Malone and his former colleagues on Charter’s board agreed to an $87.5 million settlement of claims the billionaire unfairly benefited from the $79 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable he helped finance. The accord disclosed in a Delaware court filing resolves an investor’s lawsuit against directors of the second-largest US cable company over their handling of the 2016 deal. The money will come from insurance covering directors named in the suit and will go into Charter’s coffers, not to the shareholder who filed the case.
Judges, not lawmakers, are setting 2023's tech policy
Congress' stall on technology policy is empowering courts to handle important decisions about everything from liability to content moderation. Technology moves faster than Congress can keep up with, and in the absence of new laws, lasting decisions about tech regulation are being determined by judges and courts across the country. Federal agencies, state governments, and attorneys representing different interests and motives for trying to regulate the tech industry are pushing cases forward. A high-profile instance came last week when the Supreme Court
Supreme Court Wrestles With Suit Claiming Twitter Aided Terrorists
The Supreme Court heard arguments over whether internet platforms may be sued for aiding and abetting international terrorism by failing to remove videos supporting the Islamic State.
Supreme Court Seems Wary of Limiting Protections for Social Media Platforms
In a case with the potential to alter the very structure of the internet, the Supreme Court did not appear ready to limit a law that protects social media platforms from lawsuits over their users’ posts.
Starry Files Voluntary Chapter 11 Petitions to Reorganize, Backed by Restructuring Support Agreement with Lenders
Starry, a licensed fixed wireless technology developer and internet service provider, and its US affiliates and subsidiaries announced that they have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and have entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (the “RSA”) with lenders holding the Company’s debt. The RSA contains agreed-upon terms for a pre-packaged financial restructuring plan that is expected to significantly reduce the Company’s debt, optimize the Company’s capital structure and li
Free Speech vs. Disinformation Comes to a Head
Dozens between government officials and executives at Facebook, Google, Twitter and other social media companies that have spilled into public are at the heart of a partisan legal battle that could disrupt the Biden administration’s already struggling efforts to combat disinformation. The attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana, both Republicans, have sued the White House and dozens of officials, accusing them of forcing the platforms to stifle the voices of its political critics in violation of the constitutional guarantee of free speech.
FTC Enforcement Action to Bar GoodRx from Sharing Consumers’ Sensitive Health Info for Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken enforcement action for the first time under its Health Breach Notification Rule against the telehealth and prescription drug discount provider GoodRx Holdings Inc., for failing to notify consumers and others of its unauthorized disclosures of consumers’ personal health information to Facebook, Google, and other companies. In a first-of-its-kind proposed order, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, GoodRx will be prohibited from sharing user health data with applicable third parties for advertising purposes, and has agreed to pa
Gonzalez v. Google LLC: i2Coalition files amici brief with US Supreme Court
On January 18, 2023, the i2Coalition filed an amici brief with the US Supreme Court in Gonzalez v.
Justice Department Sues Google for Monopolizing Digital Advertising Technologies
The Justice Department—along with the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia—filed a civil antitrust suit against Google for monopolizing multiple digital advertising technology products in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. Filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the complaint alleges that Google monopolizes key digital advertising technologies, collectively referred to as the “ad tech stack,” that website publishers depend on to sell ads and that advertisers rely on to
Supreme Court asks Biden administration to weigh in on social media case
The Supreme Court asked the Biden administration to weigh in on whether states may bar giant social media platforms from removing certain types of political speech, a major First Amendment case that could determine how the constitutional right to free speech applies to the marketplace of ideas on the internet. The request for the solicitor general's views will delay a decision on whether the high court takes up the issue.