VidAngel is trying to buy time with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize around its new, streaming-centric business model (see 1710190046), but there's no consensus among copyright experts on whether that new business model will fare better in court because it's not clear how the streaming model operates. VidAngel General Counsel David Quinto told us the streaming service does result in some technical violations of exclusive rights, but it doesn't cause any actual harm to copyright owners and ultimately benefits consumers. "The fair use argument is very, very strong," he said.

The FCC should act swiftly to balance rules on interference complaints between FM translators and full-power stations, said Urban One in a meeting with Chairman Ajit Pai Monday, relayed a filing in RM-11786. “While the FCC’s AM-exclusive FM translator initiative is a tremendous success, it has also created unintended consequences and raises serious policy issues that need to be resolved by the full Commission,” said the licensee of Radio One stations. “Current policy fails to consider the extent to which local listeners will be affected if the programming provided by the FM translator is removed.” The Media Bureau Audio Division has said the FCC would clarify and adjust its translator interference through an administrative law adjudication (see 1707280059) that would be adopted by the full commission, but Urban One said “any draft of such an adjudicatory decision having wide-ranging effects on broadcasters and radio listeners” should be shared with the public before adoption. Until the FCC acts, the agency should “be particularly judicious in giving full due process protections” to FM translators “particularly in situations where complaining radio listeners are located far outside of the existing station’s local radio audience,” the radio-station owner said.

It's time online platforms follow advertising disclosure rules long imposed on TV and radio, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a news conference announcing bipartisan, bicameral legislation, as expected (see 1710180027). Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supports the bill, which would require identification of ad purchases higher than $500 on platforms with at least 50 million monthly users. The Honest Ads Act “would prevent foreign actors from influencing our elections,” a McCain statement said. Reps. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., and Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., introduced companion House legislation.

It's time online platforms follow advertising disclosure rules long imposed on TV and radio, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a news conference announcing bipartisan, bicameral legislation, as expected (see 1710180027). Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supports the bill, which would require identification of ad purchases higher than $500 on platforms with at least 50 million monthly users. The Honest Ads Act “would prevent foreign actors from influencing our elections,” a McCain statement said. Reps. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., and Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., introduced companion House legislation.

Privacy Shield is working well but needs improvement, the European Commission said in its inaugural review of the trans-Atlantic agreement for protecting Europeans' personal data held in the U.S. By signing the pact with the U.S., the EC took on part of the responsibility for what happens with Europeans' private data on American soil, so it's crucial that the system have no "gaps and loopholes," said Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourová at a webcast Politico event Wednesday. The change from the Obama to the Trump administration raised concerns for the EC, which "desperately" needed to clarify whether it's "America first or America only," she said. Jourová's latest trip to Washington dispelled that worry, she said at a later news briefing. The FTC and tech industry agreed Privacy Shield is a success, but one digital rights activist doesn't expect it to hold up.

NBC didn’t contact the FCC after President Donald Trump’s tweeted questioning whether the network's “license” could be pulled, said NBC Broadcasting and Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus during panels (see 1710180023) at the NAB Show New York Wednesday. Lazarus declined to comment on Chairman Ajit Pai’s remarks that the FCC wouldn’t unilaterally take a station’s license. Asked about the president’s tweets, he said NBC News valued editorial independence and he's confident in NBC’s reporting: “We have great confidence that the FCC will stand by our First Amendment rights and support us and we have every confidence our licenses will be renewed.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai faces heat for not addressing more squarely the tweets. Some Democrats won't get a Senate Commerce Committee FCC oversight hearing on the matter.

NBC didn’t contact the FCC after President Donald Trump’s tweeted questioning whether the network's “license” could be pulled, said NBC Broadcasting and Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus during panels (see 1710180023) at the NAB Show New York Wednesday. Lazarus declined to comment on Chairman Ajit Pai’s remarks that the FCC wouldn’t unilaterally take a station’s license. Asked about the president’s tweets, he said NBC News valued editorial independence and he's confident in NBC’s reporting: “We have great confidence that the FCC will stand by our First Amendment rights and support us and we have every confidence our licenses will be renewed.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai faces heat for not addressing more squarely the tweets. Some Democrats won't get a Senate Commerce Committee FCC oversight hearing on the matter.

NBC didn’t contact the FCC after President Donald Trump’s tweeted questioning whether the network's “license” could be pulled, said NBC Broadcasting and Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus during panels (see 1710180023) at the NAB Show New York Wednesday. Lazarus declined to comment on Chairman Ajit Pai’s remarks that the FCC wouldn’t unilaterally take a station’s license. Asked about the president’s tweets, he said NBC News valued editorial independence and he's confident in NBC’s reporting: “We have great confidence that the FCC will stand by our First Amendment rights and support us and we have every confidence our licenses will be renewed.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai faces heat for not addressing more squarely the tweets. Some Democrats won't get a Senate Commerce Committee FCC oversight hearing on the matter.

Privacy Shield is working well but needs improvement, the European Commission said in its inaugural review of the trans-Atlantic agreement for protecting Europeans' personal data held in the U.S. By signing the pact with the U.S., the EC took on part of the responsibility for what happens with Europeans' private data on American soil, so it's crucial that the system have no "gaps and loopholes," said Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourová at a webcast Politico event Wednesday. The change from the Obama to the Trump administration raised concerns for the EC, which "desperately" needed to clarify whether it's "America first or America only," she said. Jourová's latest trip to Washington dispelled that worry, she said at a later news briefing. The FTC and tech industry agreed Privacy Shield is a success, but one digital rights activist doesn't expect it to hold up.

Joint legislation reauthorizing and amending Section 702 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Authority is “soon” to be released by Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a Wyden aide told us. There are reports a closed markup is planned of a separate bipartisan bill in the Senate Intelligence Committee. Privacy groups are pressuring lawmakers to think carefully about changes to existing law. House Judiciary’s USA Liberty Act (HR-3989) “falls short,” blogged Rainey Reitman, activism director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF would like to see a new bill prevent “backdoor searching” when domestic law enforcement entities query data collected by NSA for criminal investigations without a warrant from a judge. The bill doesn’t include sufficient transparency and oversight, and “won’t curtail the NSA’s practices of collecting data on innocent people,” Reitman said: HR-3989 doesn’t require data to be purged “by a fixed deadline” except when it's determined a communication has no foreign intelligence value, opening the possibility that “rogue government employees” could tap into the data. American Enterprise Institute scholar Claude Barfield challenged parties with disparate views to consider whether their positions have merit, blogging that House Judiciary Committee leaders should address the loophole concerns that privacy groups raised. The backdoor loophole is a continuing concern, Michelle Richardson, Center for Democracy & Technology Freedom, Security, and Technology Project deputy director, told us.