Viacom has cut back the past couple of years on its licensing of content to subscription VOD services, amassing a big library with which to go direct to consumer with its $340 million Pluto TV acquisition (see 1901230029), Viacom CEO Bob Bakish said in a call Tuesday with analysts. He said Pluto will be "a key driver for transforming our company," and the deal should close in March. He said Pluto provides access to more than 12 million monthly users and is a marketing engine for Viacom's own SVOD products like Nick Hits. For Q1 ended Dec. 31, revenue of $3.09 billion was little changed from the year-ago quarter as operating income fell 16 percent to $602 million. Viacom expects single-digit percentage revenue growth the rest of the fiscal year.

Some 23 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a smart thermostat in 2019, and 24 percent are likely to buy a smart lightbulb, blogged Parks Associates Monday. Data from such devices is a “new and important form of currency in the IoT ecosystem,” said analyst Brad Russell, saying artificial intelligence and machine learning can unlock the value of data for energy providers.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge (R) is probing Facebook’s use of consumer data, a spokesperson told us Friday. Rutledge “is investigating the use of consumer data on social media and other internet platforms to ensure appropriate safeguards for consumers and protection against security breaches that could be harmful to Arkansans,” the spokesperson wrote, not saying whether the inquiry is directly related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach or linked to a multistate investigation led by Democratic state AGs (see 1902010049). Facebook previously said it’s in contact with AGs from several states. “More regulation of the internet” is needed, the platform conceded Monday. The company welcomes “smart” legislation and will “work with lawmakers to achieve it,” it said. “Simplicity” is needed in policy discussions, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted Sunday: “The average person would have to spend 76 working days to read all the digital privacy policies they agree to in the span of a year ... So much fine print in so many places.” Facebook outlined ways it’s addressing privacy issues, foreign interference, safety issues and other concerns: It removes millions of fake accounts to combat election interference and misinformation; more than 30,000 staffers work on safety and security; and staff now detect 99 percent of terrorist-related content before it’s reported, 97 percent of violence and graphic content, and 96 percent of nudity. The FTC can become the “privacy watchdog that this era so desperately needs” if Congress empowers and properly funds the agency, The New York Times editorial board wrote Saturday: “Uninformed, non-negotiated” consent agreements included in overly complex privacy policies shouldn’t be the requirement for using “services that are often necessary for civic life.”

ICANN's thrice-yearly major meetings return to the U.S. in 2021, with Seattle hosting the 72nd meeting that Oct. 23-28. The 61st meeting was in San Juan last March. Locations for Nos. 70 and 71 will be announced soon," the group said Thursday: No. 72's "location was announced out of sequence due to contractual obligations."

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is wrong to propose lowering the de minimis threshold on shipments from Canada and Mexico, said the Internet Association. A lower threshold would mean more goods crossing borders could be subject to duties. "A consistent, high de minimis threshold benefits the entire American e-commerce system, including thousands of small businesses that use the internet to export and import," said IA Director-Trade Policy Jordan Haas Wednesday. USTR’s proposed provision in legislation implementing the new North American Free Trade Agreement “would force small businesses to navigate a complicated, confusing net of customs rules,” said Haas. Businesses complained that even the concessions won in the new NAFTA are complicated and confusing, because Mexico and Canada have different de minimis levels for sales taxes and for customs duties.

Smart speakers are the most prevalent smart home controller, used by 35 percent of smart home owners, Parks Associates blogged Thursday. Five percent of U.S. broadband households use their smart speaker as a hub vs. 3 percent that use a home security system and 2 percent with independent control hubs. Most smart homeowners operate their devices individually, but voice control's rise and the growing number of connected devices in homes is nudging more toward centralized control, said analyst Dina Abdelrazik. Such homes average more than 10 devices, and voice is emerging as a key interface for managing them, she said. "A smartphone app may be sufficient for houses with just one device, but when people get their fourth or fifth product, using individual apps for each device creates friction."

As global pay-TV competition further intensifies, “deployment of next-generation content delivery solutions to provide the best user experience across different video platforms is crucial for the success of service providers,” said ABI Research Thursday. It forecasts video streaming services will top 585 million subscriptions worldwide in 2019. ABI sees 5G network deployments as a “catalyst” in mobile video consumption, “driving the requirement of efficient video delivery solutions,” it said. Ultra HD and augmented- and virtual-reality video applications “are also expected to drive the deployment of edge computing platforms for content delivery,” it said. Edge computing can greatly reduce latency by moving the data source closer to end users, it said.

The general data protection regulation must be defended but also needs honest evaluation, a Wednesday Computers, Privacy & Data Protection conference heard, livestreamed from Brussels. GDPR has been in effect for eight months, and the European Commission is monitoring what countries are doing and how well people understand their rights, said Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova. "We have to start differentiating between consumers and citizens" to ensure personal data isn't used in the political process for targeting people and spreading fake news, she said. The EC plans a conference in June to assess GDPR costs and benefits. There have been improvements in awareness and data processing, but more cooperation is needed among data protection authorities, said Marit Hansen, data protection commissioner of Land Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. The regulation is "slowly developing its potential" and its "teething problems" will be solved sooner rather than later, she said. GDPR faces two big threats -- avoidance and denial -- but it must be defended because of its link with democracy, said Gloria Gonzalez Fuster, of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Six EU governments haven't implemented it, and some like Poland lack money and resources to do so, said Member of the European Parliament Michal Boni, of the European People's Party and Poland. European Digital Rights is concerned about rule "flexibilities," said Anna Fielder, senior policy adviser with the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, speaking for EDRi. This includes language that lets political parties process personal data without explicit consent, which is happening in the U.K., Spain and Romania, she said. The EC is creating a European culture of privacy out of different national rules and processes, said Renate Nikolay, Jourova's head of cabinet. Europe is the "first mover" in privacy and will lead the global standard if it can make the law work uniformly, she said. Some aspects have worked, said Google Public Policy Manager Lanah Kammourieh Donnelly: It has led many businesses to boost processes and products, with Google having 500-plus people, many in Europe, working on privacy. But the harmonization the regulation aimed for hasn't happened, and more work is needed on standards, she said.

Government defendants would file their summary judgment motion Feb. 15 on journalist Jason Prechtel's lawsuit against the FCC and the General Services Administration over handling of Freedom of Information Act requests for electronic comment submission details, DOJ proposed (in Pacer) Tuesday to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Prechtel v. FCC, No. 17-1835-CRC. DOJ proposed that plaintiff's opposition and cross motion be due April 8, defendants' opposition and reply April 22 and plaintiff's reply May 13, noting plaintiff consented. It was giving the court notice, as requested, that appropriations legislation resuming department funding was enacted Friday.

“The best things Amazon will deliver to Queens won’t come in a box,” says an Amazon flyer that appeared in Queens residential mailboxes this weekend trumpeting its new Long Island City headquarters. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), a Queens native who spearheaded the bid to land Amazon, calls the deal a “lightning rod” for “rhetoric” on both political “extremes” (see 1811190012). Wednesday’s hearing is before the council’s Finance Committee. The council promises to give the public the chance to testify at a future hearing and encourages questions to the live hearings through social media. The theme of the first hearing Dec. 12, "Exposing the Closed-Door Process,” reflected council frustrations. The Queens development is one of the two HQ2s, with the other in Northern Virginia (see 1811130013).