MediaPost
FCC's O'Rielly Hopes To Block State Privacy Laws
Congress's decision to repeal the nationwide broadband privacy rules appears to have spurred lawmakers in at least a dozen states to introduce new measures that would protect residents' online privacy. Now, at least one Republican on the Federal Communications Commission wants the agency to enact regulations that would prohibit states from enacting their own privacy rules.
"I believe states should be ... barred from enacting their own privacy burdens on what is by all means an interstate information service," Commissioner Michael O'Rielly said earlier in May in a speech delivered to the American Legislative Exchange Council. "It is both impractical and very harmful for each state to enact differing and conflicting privacy burdens on broadband providers, many of which serve multiple states, if not the entire country."
Appeals Court Sides With CNN In App Privacy Battle
A federal appellate court has sided with CNN in a dispute over whether its iTunes app violated a federal privacy law by allegedly sharing data about consumers with the analytics company Bango. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that people who download CNN's iTunes app aren't "subscribers" to the service. Therefore, the court ruled, the company didn't violate the Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits video companies from sharing personally identifiable information about "subscribers," "renters," or "purchasers." The decision upheld a trial judge's dismissal of iPhone user Ryan Perry's class-action complaint against CNN.
Court Urged To Restore FTC's Power To Prosecute AT&T
In 2016, three judges on a federal appellate court issued a stunning ruling that blocked the Federal Trade Commission from prosecuting AT&T for allegedly duping customers. The judges said in their opinion that the FTC couldn't proceed against AT&T because the agency lacks jurisdiction against common carriers. The ruling stemmed from what appeared to have been a straightforward deception claim: The FTC argued that AT&T misled consumers by selling them unlimited data, but throttling their broadband connections after they used between 3 and 5 GB a month.
The most surprising thing about the appellate judges' ruling was that the alleged deception occurred between 2011 and 2014 -- before mobile broadband was considered a common carrier service. The FTC is now asking for a new hearing in front of at least 11 of the 9th Circuit's judges. That request is backed by lawmakers, public interest groups and a different federal agency -- the Federal Communications Commission. Late during the week of April 17, the FCC filed a new round of papers with the 9th Circuit, arguing that the three judges who issued the original opinion incorrectly interpreted the law.
Major News Drives Earned Media For TV Networks
Earned media continues to deliver big benefits for media and entertainment brands, largely due to high-interest news viewing. Recent news concerning the presidential election and possible Russian connections with the White House are driving strong viewer and TV news content activity.
Looking at just TV networks, for the month of April so far, Fox (which would include all its brand associations) registered $224 million in media value for the month and a 97 score. CNN registered a media value of $150 million and an overall rating of 97. MSNBC, had $10.6 million in media value and an 86 rating overall. The Washington Post has produced $386.7 million in media value -- the highest amount of any news organization -- and a 96 score. The New York Times produced $216.7 million in current media value, with a 97 score. The Wall Street Journal came in at $19.6 million with a 95 rating.
Will The FCC Raise Limits On TV Station Ownership?
For many TV industry analysts, it seems an easy projection: The new Trump Administration will mean less regulation for the TV businesses -- particularly for TV station groups, which could mean high merger activity. But Barclays Capital says don't be too sure.
One of the main points of contention is lifting the cap on the number of TV stations one company can own -- now at 39% of US TV homes. “Lifting broadcast caps [are] not easy,” writes media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar. “Broadcast ownership rules have been reviewed many times at the Supreme Court, circuit courts and Congress. Even the Republican-led FCC, while raising the limits in early 2000s, recognized the need to maintain a limit on ownership.” Secondly, it may not be the Federal Communications Commission deciding on whether to lift that cap. “Because the 39% cap was put in place by Congress, there is a school of thought that argues that only Congress can modify this cap.”
Kids Entering The Digital Age At Young Ages
Many kids are entering the digital age before they are entering double digits in age. According to Nielsen’s Mobile Kids report, about half (45%) of kids get a mobile phone with a service plan between the ages of 10 and 12, with most of them (22%) getting them when they’re 10. Beyond that, 16% of 8-year-olds are also receiving phones. The mobile child, according to the study, skews male (56% vs. 44%) and about 20% of them are Hispanic. The majority (94%) of these kids are on their parents’ service plan, and nearly three-quarters (72%) of them have the entire suite of wireless services including voice, messaging and data. While Nielsen doesn’t have the data to determine whether kids’ experience with phones is trending younger, the logical assumption is that it is, according to the company. Among the top usage for kids on their phones: texting (81%), downloading apps (59%), playing pre-installed games (54%) and browsing Web sites (53%).
Cable News Doing Big Ad Business, Viewership
Just about one month into the new presidential administration, TV news networks are posting stronger ad business, as well as high viewership -- contradicting some criticism over fake news claims.
For example, CNN earned some $72.8 million in national advertising, according to iSpot.tv, from January 16 through February 16 -- more than double the advertising dollars levels for the same period a year ago, when it earned $33.5 million. On Feb 16, during a meeting with journalists, Jeff Zucker, chairman of CNN Worldwide, said his network brand had not beenen hurt by President Trump's false claim that much of the media was delivering so-called “fake news.” Likewise, Fox News Channel, the leader in the cable news marketplace, is also pulling in big ad dollars -- $108.8 million during that period. A year ago, Fox News was at $47.3 million for the same period.
House Communications Subcommittee Chair Blackburn Aims To Revoke Broadband Privacy Rules
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) says she is readying a push to revoke the Federal Communications Commission's broadband privacy rules. Chairman Blackburn said she believes lawmakers can use the Congressional Review Act to rescind the new privacy rules. Those rules, passed by a 3-2 vote last October, require broadband carriers to obtain consumers' opt-in consent before drawing on their data for ad targeting. "I think using the CRA is fine," Chairman Blackburn said. "We are working with the Senate to make sure we can do that." She added that she could move forward with the initiative as early as the week of Feb 13.
Her comments come several weeks after more than a dozen conservative and libertarian groups asked lawmakers to revoke the rules under the Congressional Review Act -- a rarely used 1996 law that allows federal lawmakers to overturn recent agency decisions. Chairman Blackburn also downplayed concerns that revoking the FCC's rules would leave broadband providers without any oversight when it comes to privacy, due to their status as common carriers. The Federal Trade Commission, which typically enforces privacy standards, isn't authorized to prosecute common carriers. "I would think there would be a way to work through that so that you don't have a gap in oversight," Chairman Blackburn said. She didn't elaborate further.
Still Wondering How Trump Won? Try Psychographic Targeting
[Commentary] You wake up, yawn, stretch. Pick up the phone. Check Facebook. “Like.” “Like.” “Like,” again. After 10 “likes,” Michal Kosinski knows you better than your work colleagues. After 70, he knows you better than your partner does, including -- whether these things were explicitly referenced in your clicks or not -- your skin color, your sexual orientation, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, whether you smoke or do drugs… The list goes on.
Like some creepy alt-Santa, he knows how open you are. Whether you’re a perfectionist. Whether you’re considerate. Whether you’re neurotic. Kosinski isn’t a CIA agent or a spy. He isn’t even a marketer. He’s a researcher at Stanford, and he’s worked out how to turn your clicks into psychographic profiles. Kosinski’s technique is similar to the technique used by the company Cambridge Analytica to help the Brexit and Trump campaigns win.