John Eggerton

A Washington State judge ruled that Comcast violated consumer protection laws more than 445,000 times, bogusly charging thousands of state cable consumers for a $5.99 plan they didn’t even know they were getting. Judge Timothy Bradshaw ordered Comcast to pay $9.1 million in penalties and ordered Comcast to pay back all the customers it has been ruled to have misled, with 12% interest. That figure could exceed another $3 million.

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has declined to hold edge providers liable for false third-party content posted on their sites, even if they know the information being posted is false. Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! are not responsible for flooding the online search market with info on "scam" locksmiths, if the market has been so flooded, because such liability is barred by the Communications Decency Act, whose much-in-the-news Sec. 230 holds that the edge can't be treated as a publisher of third party content on their platforms.

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on the changing video marketplace, with representatives from top trade association chiefs, Free Press, and Nielsen. The hearing looked at the video marketplace's change from appointment content on TV sets, to "how, where and when" content on a variety of devices. Everyone was in agreement that the video marketplace had changed dramatically while the laws had not, but whether to start from scratch or modify existing laws--like STELAR and the 1992 Cable Act--generated a lot of different opinions.

The House Communications Subcommittee began its review of the STELAR compulsory copyright legislation -- STELAR is the latest name for the bill, which dates from 1988, that established the compulsory license that allows satellite operators to import distant network TV station affiliates into local markets where viewers lack access to them for a variety of reasons.

Kristine Fargotstein has been named VP, policy and advocacy, for USTelecom-The Broadband Association. Fargotstein comes from the Federal Communications Commission, where most recently she had been detailed to the House Communications Subcommittee to work on broadband infrastructure, network neutrality, and spectrum issues. While at the FCC, Fargotstein's posts included acting wireline advisor to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, special counsel in the Office of General Counsel, legal advisor to the Wireline bureau chief, and attorney advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau.

The Senate passed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act (S 151) by a 97-1 vote. The bill would give the Federal Communications Commission civil fining authority of up to $10,000 per call for those who "intentionally flout" telemarketing restrictions.

The House Commerce Committee dove into the omnibus Lifting Infrastructure for Tomorrow's (LIFT) America Act, which includes $40 billion for broadband buildouts. Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) said rebuilding infrastructure was a bipartisan priority, as was the agreement on better mapping to prevent "rampant overbuilding." Witness Mignon Clyburn, principal, MLC Strategies, LLC, and former commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, said the FCC should not be using current, bad, broadband coverage maps to determine who needs broadband.

Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly tweeted:

While I generally withhold all comments regarding pending or prospective mergers, I find it necessary to clarify, at this time, that I am inclined to support T-Mobile/Sprint proposed merger, even if not convinced of the need for all the newly announced conditions being proposed.

The Federal Communications Commission completed a three-month, Congressionally-mandated report by the FCC's Media Bureau looking into the television content rating system.

The American Public Power Association, American Water Works Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, and the Utilities Technology Council -- which together represent almost all of the nation's utilities, water, and wastewater facilities -- wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, warning him about the FCC moving too quickly to open up 6 GHz midband spectrum currently used by those utilities. The utilities say they need the spectrum for their mission-critical communications and that the FCC's proposal to open it up for unl