Court case

Public Knowledge, Mozilla, the Benton Foundation, INCOMPAS and others challenging the Federal Communications Commission's Restoring Internet Freedom order say that was not just bad policy but illegal. That is coming in a brief with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which is hearing their challenge to the network neutrality regulation rollback--the deadline for initial briefs from non-government parties is Aug 20.

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.

An exacting look at Judge Brett Kavanaugh's judicial record is crucial to understand where he stands on issues of critical importance to the American people. In one such case, United States Telecom Association. v. FCC, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals was called upon to review the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality regulations from 2015.

In 2018, a federal judge signed a search warrant for a windfall of private information to help find the robber responsible for a string of crimes in southern Maine. Authorities were seeking a large amount of sensitive user data — including names, addresses and locations — of anyone who had been in the vicinity of at least two of the nine robbery locations, within 30 minutes of the crime.

Tech companies appear to be concerned that they might face some unintended consequences as a result of a battle over whether President Donald Trump violates the First Amendment by blocking critics on Twitter. In court papers submitted the week of Aug 13, the Silicon Valley group Internet Association is urging a federal appellate court to clarify that Twitter can continue to block users -- regardless of whether Trump may legally do so.

After months of relative inactivity, there will soon be some important movement in litigation over the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules. The fact that there are two different cases in two different courts litigating over two different decisions is likely to cause considerable confusion in the coming weeks. On Monday, August 20, challengers will be filing their initial briefs in their appeal of the Trump Administration FCC’s oxymoronic “Restoring Internet Freedom” order.

The Federal Communications Commission has shut down conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s flagship radio station, the pirate radio station, Liberty Radio. Liberty was hit with a $15,000 fine and at least temporarily pulled from the airwaves. A lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin (TX) alleged that Liberty Radio had functioned without a license since at least 2013, and had been transmitting from a tower at an Austin apartment complex. Liberty Radio stopped airing on the radio in December, but still streams online.

Notice that a proposed Final Judgment, Stipulation, and Competitive Impact Statement have been filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in United States of America v. The Walt Disney Company, et al., Civil Action No. 1:18–cv–05800.

Opponents of the AT&T-Time Warner merger are taking aim at District Judge Richard Leon’s June decision to allow the deal to go forward. Here’s a rundown of some of their legal briefs as an appeals court prepares to take up the case:

While unlikely to draw the level of attention given to abortion rights, the Affordable Care Act, and affirmative action, the status of the “Chevron doctrine” is, to many, a crucial consideration for and against the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. The Chevron doctrine gives regulatory agencies substantial discretion to decide what they can do under the laws that define their authority. Perhaps the most relevant Supreme Court Chevron-related opinion these days is National Cable Television Association v. Brand X, decided in 2005.