January 2017

Motion Picture Association of America chairman Chris Dodd congratulated US Trade Representative (USTR) nominee Robert Lighthizer on his appointment and called for working together to protect intellectual property and expand markets. The Trump Administration does not see eye-to-eye with the studios on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, however. The TPP is a historic Pacific Rim trade agreement with 11 other countries that TV and film producers had been pushing for as a way to expand trade and access to Asia-Pacific markets.

While MPAA hailed the agreement Trump has called it a bad deal that he wants out of and pledged that his negotiators will strike better ones. The USTR is the lead negotiator on such trade deals. “The MPAA congratulates Robert Lighthizer on his appointment by President-elect Donald Trump for USTR," said Dodd in a statement. "The American film and television industry is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and effective trade policies are crucial to its continued success. Our sector employs nearly two million American workers, while generating $16.3 billion in exports and registering a positive trade balance with nearly every country around the world."

The Federal Communications Commission is allowing foreign investors to own up to a 49% equity stake in TV and radio station owner Univision, including up to a 40% stake by Mexico's Televisa. That came in a declaratory ruling this week after a petition by Univision and Televisa went unopposed. The FCC said it granted the petition "because this increased level of foreign investment in Univision will facilitate investment from new sources of capital in Univision that would not otherwise be available and encourage reciprocity by foreign governments."

Televisa supplies over a third of Univision's programming and bought an equity stake in Univision in 2010 (10% equity, 14.4% voting interest). Univision and Televisa had sought the declaratory ruling in advance of an initial public offering that could increase the foreign investment beyond the current 25%. "We find that the public interest would not be served by refusing to grant Univision’s petition for a declaratory ruling to permit foreign ownership of Univision Holdings...above the statutory cap of 25% and up to 49%."

The Federal Trade Commission announced that it is challenging the public to create an innovative tool that will help protect consumers from security vulnerabilities in the software of home devices connected to the Internet of Things. The agency is offering a cash prize of up to $25,000 for the best technical solution, with up to $3,000 available for up to three honorable mention winner(s). The FTC is asking IoT Home Inspector Challenge contestants to develop a tool that would address security vulnerabilities caused by out-of-date software in IoT devices. An ideal tool might be a physical device that the consumer can add to his or her home network that would check and install updates for other IoT devices on that home network, or it might be an app or cloud-based service, or a dashboard or other user interface. Contestants also have the option of adding features such as those that would address hard-coded, factory default or easy-to-guess passwords. Submissions will be accepted as early as March 1, 2017 and are due May 22, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Winners will be announced on or about July 27, 2017.

The internet is a beautiful escape, the world's most wide-reaching communication device, the biggest business ever conceived, and a leveler of who has the tools to create art. But it’s also a perfectly-honed propaganda machine that bounces back our biases so often it’s become a hazard to the future. According to a year-long study from Stanford researchers, the inability of young students to tell “fake news” from real news is alternately “dismaying,” “bleak,” and a “threat to democracy.” If the children are the future, the future looks bleak. What age should educators—both at home and school—offer lessons on how to use the internet? As soon as humanly possible.