The “potential effects” of the new California Consumer Privacy Act “are far-reaching” and may force Roku to modify its “data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses” to comply, said a 10-K SEC filing Friday. The CCPA (see 1812070054) was recently amended and may be amended again before it takes effect in January, said Roku. The legislation “places additional requirements on the handling of personal data,” it said. It gives residents “expanded rights to access and require deletion of their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used,” said the company. It stipulates civil penalties for violations, plus “a private right of action for data breaches” that might raise Roku’s exposure to litigation, it noted: “We are continuing to assess the impact of the CCPA and proposed amendments to the law on our business.”
The $340 million purchase of streaming service Pluto TV is now complete, Viacom said Monday. The deal was announced in January (see 1901230029). Viacom said Pluto CEO Tom Ryan will remain in charge of the independent subsidiary.
"Turns out I was right" about the White House pushing for DOJ to block AT&T's buy of Time Warner because of President Donald Trump's animus against TW-owned CNN, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted Monday in response to a New Yorker story. Asked for comment, DOJ pointed to a 2017 statement by antitrust head Makan Delrahim that he has "never been instructed by the White House on this or any other transaction under review by the antitrust division."
Comments on the FCC 2018 quadrennial review NPRM are due April 29, replies May 29, said Thursday's Federal Register (see 1812120054).
DOJ should replace the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees with modern consent decrees, said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews and BMI CEO Mike O’Neill Thursday. They want to maintain musicians’ automatic access to BMI and ASCAP “repertoires with the immediate right to public performance,” access contingent on a “fairer, more efficient, less costly and automatic mechanism for the payment of interim fees." They want to keep “the rate court process for resolution of rate disputes” outlined in the Music Modernization Act and continue to get “non-exclusive U.S. rights from our writers and publishers, which allows licensees, songwriters, composers and publishers to still do direct deals if they so choose.” They want as-is “current forms of licenses that the industry has grown accustomed to beyond the traditional blanket license.” They warned against government intervention that would come with reverting to a compulsory licensing model. DOJ has been reviewing the decrees (see 1902140042) and reportedly may seek comment soon. Justice didn't comment immediately.
Sprint is offering customers a free movie stream through a limited-time promotion with FandangoNow, said the carrier Wednesday. Customers can sign up through the My Sprint Rewards app.
The FCC Media Bureau seeks comment on accuracy of the TV parental guidelines system and the efficacy of the industry-controlled TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board, said a public notice Tuesday. The 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act included a directive to report to Congress on TV ratings by May 15. The PN seeks comment on TV ratings accuracy, and on whether programs containing violent or sexual content are being rated as acceptable for children. The PN asks if ratings are “being applied consistently, or is programming with similar content being rated differently?” The FCC was also directed to seek comment on whether the oversight board is able to respond to public concerns. The PN asks whether the board has complied with its commitments, taken steps to improve accuracy or undertaken any enforcement actions “to ensure that the Industry is applying the ratings and doing so accurately.” The PN references filings from the Parents Television Council, which has complained of inaccurate TV ratings and that the oversight board wasn't doing enough to prevent children from seeing violent and sexual content. PTC's calls for improving the ratings system “have fallen on the very same deaf ears that control the system and game it to their advantage,” PTC said when the appropriations act was passed. The oversight board “is primarily comprised of the very same television network executives who assign the ratings to begin with,” PTC said. The board didn't comment now. An October release on its TV guidelines website touts a study showing a favorable view of its ratings. Comments on the PN are due March 12, replies March 19.
Petitions are due March 15 to participate in the Copyright Royalty Board’s proceeding for determining rates for new subscription services using digital performance sound recordings and associated ephemeral recordings Jan. 1, 2021-Dec. 31, 2025, the board announced Monday.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly will be speakers at the American Cable Association annual summit March 20, ACA said Friday (see here and here).
A Delaware Chancery Court Feb. 13 decision "is a strong step" toward protecting News 12 Networks jobs and its "unique hyper-local programming," former News 12 President Patrick Dolan said Wednesday. He and other Dolan family members are suing Altice USA for the News 12 layoffs allegedly violating terms of Altice's buy of Cablevision (see 1809050032). Chancery Judge Joseph Slights ordered that while litigation is underway, Altice can't terminate News 12 employees for other than "actual, bona fide cause" or with prior court approval. He also set trial for Sept. 4. Altice, in a motion to dismiss brief earlier this month, said Cablevision and Altice are the only parties to the agreement, not the Dolans, and thus they lack standing, and the covenant at the basis of their complaint didn't survive the deal's closing and is unenforceable.