Court case

A California man was sentenced to more than one and a half years in prison for threatening to kill the family of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. On or about Dec 19 and 20, 2017, Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk (CA), sent three emails to Chairman Pai’s email accounts. The first email accused Chairman Pai of being responsible for a child who allegedly had committed suicide because of the repeal of net neutrality regulations. The second email listed three locations in or around Arlington (VA) and threatened to kill the Chairman’s family members.

For 5G boosters, the benefits of installing the wireless technology are obvious: It allows delivery of super-fast internet speeds. But to hook up the “small cells” that power 5G grids, wireless providers have to install thick wires and poles and antennae on nearly every block they want to cover, outfitted with equipment that is about the size of a large backpack. It’s not just that 5G requires a lot of gear, which alone can provoke the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) backlash that puts a stop to all sorts of projects. It’s also that some people really don’t like it when they see it.

Apple suffered a significant defeat at the Supreme Court, when the justices ruled that consumers could forge ahead with a lawsuit against the tech giant over the way it manages its App Store. The 5-4 decision allows device owners to proceed with a case that alleges Apple has acted as a monopoly by requiring iPhone and iPad users to download apps only from its portal while taking a cut of some sales made through the store. The legal question in the case was whether the suit was barred by a 1977 decision, Illinois Brick Co. v.

Striking back at The New York Times Company, the Federal Communications Commission is urging a judge to rule that the agency need not disclose information about net neutrality commenters because doing so would compromise their privacy. “If the FCC is compelled to disclose an individual’s IP address, operating system and version, browser platform and version, and language settings, and that information is linked to the individual’s publicly-available name and postal address, that disclosure would result in clearly unwarranted invasions of personal privacy,” the FCC argues in papers filed wit

The Justice Department weighed in on a years-long legal battle between the Federal Trade Commission and Qualcomm, warning that the outcome in the case could hurt the ability of US companies to compete in 5G wireless technology. The Federal Trade Commission first sued Qualcomm in Jan 2017, claiming the maker of mobile phone technology violated antitrust rules in its licensing agreements with phone manufacturers. Qualcomm fought the charges at trial in Jan 2019, and US District Judge Lucy Koh has yet to make a ruling in the case.

Why is it important whether broadband internet access service (BIAS) is considered a common carriage service or not? Because if BIAS is a common carriage service, then BIAS providers bear the fundamental obligations of common carriers.  These common carriage obligations are:

The Supreme Court is considering whether to weigh in on a defining battle of the digital era. The court is about to decide what happens next in Oracle v. Google — a case that will affect not just the apps on your smartphone, but the future of American software innovation. The case hinges on whether developers should be able to create new applications using standard ways of accessing common functions. Those functions are the building blocks of computer programming, letting developers easily assemble the range of applications and tools we all use every day.

Over 20 years ago, the US Supreme Court unanimously decided Reno v. American CivilLiberties Union (ACLU), which found the communications decency provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to be unconstitutional. Applying a strict scrutiny judicial review standard under the First Amendment, the Supreme Court concluded that unlike broadcasting (where the FCC’s “indecency” content regulation consistently has been upheld due to the unique characteristics of that medium), no government regulation would be constitutionally permissible—even for online child protection.

The New York Times Company is pressing a judge to order the Federal Communications Commission to turn over information about comments submitted in the 2017 net neutrality proceeding. “The logs will likely reveal the true extent of the fraud that infected the net neutrality rulemaking,” the newspaper argues in court papers filed April 10 with US District Court Judge Lorna Schofield in the Southern District of New York. “In the wake of Special Counsel’s Robert Mueller’s recent indictment of 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies for interfering with U.S. elections and the U.S.

Gigi Sohn, a former counselor to former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “I just have to push back a little bit on this [claim the bill] doesn’t have a chance in the Senate. I know what leader [Mitch] McConnell said — I believe the American people will resuscitate the dead on arrival bill.  Referring to a case that is challenging the decision to end the Obama-era rules on net neutrality, she added, "What you must understand is that there is litigation going on right now to challenge the 2018 repeal.