Digital Content

The message that emerged from Comcast Converge was that everything the company does—mobile, video, sports streaming, security and, of course, broadband—relies on the performance of its network infrastructure. By extension (given the fact that no one has plugged anything into a router to connect to the internet in ages), that means Wi-Fi. The way Comcast is thinking about convergence is probably best exemplified with this statistic: The first NFL playoff game which was exclusively streamed on its Peacock service in January accounted for a whopping 30 percent of all US internet traffic.

As government officials increasingly scrutinize how digital platforms may harm kids, a growing number of states are proposing sweeping restrictions to limit their access to social media. But a top federal enforcer active on kids’ safety issues said that he opposes such limits, arguing they are unlikely to work and may run afoul of the Constitution. “Meet a teenager, they will find a way to get around that,” said Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya.

A new sports streaming bundle from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the creation of the US AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC), which will unite AI creators and users, academics, government and industry researchers, and civil society organizations in support of the development and deployment of safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI).

ESPN, Fox, and Warner are teaming up to create a supersize sports-streaming service that will offer content from all major leagues, a deal that will reshape the sports and media landscape. The as-yet-unnamed service will be offered directly to consumers, who would be able to stream a host of channels that are heavy in live sports, including ESPN, TNT, Fox, FS1 and ABC, the companies said in a statement. Each of the companies will have one-third ownership of the new service, which is expected to launch in the fall.

I’m excited to talk to you about what I think will be an unsettling future reality: the accelerating move from a single Internet and technology market toward one fragmented along national borders due to concerns about digital sovereignty. There was a lot of heady idealism in the early days of the Internet. The internet was a universal, open network where people from around the world could exchange services and ideas basically without restriction.

Netflix confirmed that it has notified its customers in Florida that it will begin on February 15 adding to their monthly bills "the state tax rate" for streaming services, which is 5.07% of their regular fees. Netflix referred to 

In January at the World Economic Forum, Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta, called a nascent effort to detect artificially generated content “the most urgent task” facing the tech industry today. Now, Mr. Clegg has proposed a solution.

Google will no longer be keeping a backup of the entire Internet. Google Search's "cached" links have long been an alternative way to load a website that was down or had changed, but now the company is killing them off. Google "Search Liaison" Danny Sullivan confirmed the feature removal in an X post, saying the feature "was meant for helping people access pages when way back, you often couldn't depend on a page loading. These days, things have greatly improved.

Senators of both parties are focusing their criticism on a law that Congress passed in 1996—a law that paved the way for social media as we know it. That law, said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), “needs to change.” The statute in question is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives online service providers broad immunity from lawsuits over their users’ posts, with the goal of promoting free expression online. Over the years, it has survived court challenges, legislative pushes, and an executive order by President Donald Trump. Now, it is in Congress’s sights once again.