Paramount Skydance's arguments that its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery faces a less fraught regulatory approval process is generally sound, but that doesn't mean a Paramount/WBD deal would be smooth sailing before DOJ and the FTC, competition lawyers and experts told us. In a letter to WBD shareholders last week, Paramount said its bid for WBD would have a shorter and more certain regulatory approval path than Netflix's rival offer (see 2512100001).
Social Media
Social media platforms are facing intense scrutiny over how they collect, share and monetize user data. As new state and federal laws focus on age verification, parental controls and transparency requirements, social media companies face legal risks around algorithmic targeting, third-party tracking and children's safety. This page follows key legislation, investigations and lawsuits shaping privacy practices for major social platforms.
The Center for American Rights kicked off an online campaign Monday supporting the elimination of the broadcast TV ownership cap and targeting the Senate Commerce Committee's FCC oversight hearing Wednesday. In an interview, CAR President Daniel Suhr told us he bases the group’s FCC filings on President Donald Trump’s social media posts and public comments. He added that CAR’s focus on media resonates with conservatives and has raised its profile, increasing donations to the organization.
A compromise version before the House of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act without language allowing DOD to essentially veto commercial use of the 3.1-3.45 and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands (see 2512080055) "is good as a matter of policy & law," the Free State Foundation wrote Tuesday on social media. Giving DOD authority over the spectrum "would violate separation of powers by constraining [the president's] authority over the executive branch." The group called the provision's removal a victory for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, "who resisted the efforts to place certain frequencies off-limits."
Paramount Skydance announced a hostile takeover bid Monday to buy WBD, offering $30 each for all outstanding shares of the company. The move follows the announcement that Netflix struck an $82.7 billion deal last week to purchase WBD (see 2512050046). One analyst said he sees President Donald Trump's heavy involvement in the fight over WBD as an advantage for Paramount over Netflix.
California’s continuing interest in VoIP regulation is a concern, and the lack of FCC preemption of state VoIP oversight is proving to be a problem, speakers said Wednesday at a vCon conference about AI and telecom issues. Also at the event, Ecommerce Innovation Alliance (EIA) President David Carter said the e-commerce industry, faced with rocketing amounts of “shakedown litigation" about texts sent during quiet hours, is anxiously hoping that the FCC will act soon on the group's 9-month-old petition for a declaratory ruling (see 2503030036). An agency affirmation that prior consumer consent means those texts don’t violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) “should have been a no-brainer,” Carter said.
U.S. Supreme Court justices in oral argument Monday repeatedly challenged and tested Cox Communications' claim that it bears no liability for online piracy by its broadband subscribers. Cox is challenging a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld a lower court's contributory copyright infringement finding against the ISP (see 2408160034). The docket is 24-171.
Recon Analytics is finding that the frequency with which consumers access and use AI is tied to how they get online, analyst Roger Entner said last week during a Fiber Broadband Association webinar. Among consumers who use satellite or DSL, only about 10% use AI on a daily basis, compared to 28% for fixed wireless access, 32% for cable and 45% for fiber, he said.
A recent social media post from President Donald Trump condemning proposals to lift the national TV ownership cap doesn’t definitively spell disaster for broadcasters, said New Street analyst Blair Levin in a note to subscribers Tuesday. Trump’s post was focused on preventing ABC and NBC from growing (see 2511240055), but that isn’t a likely consequence of lifting the cap, Levin wrote. “One should not assume that the President understands what he is talking about when it comes to this post, or that it is a deeply held point of view, as it relates to law and process.”
A social media post by President Donald Trump on Sunday condemning proposals to do away with the national cap on TV station ownership drew a flurry of responses Monday from NAB, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who wants the cap to remain in place. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has been widely seen as likely to do away with the cap, but he has also been clear about his deference to Trump. “If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge,’ I would not be happy,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “ABC & NBC, in particular, are a disaster - A VIRTUAL ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY. They should be viewed as an illegal campaign to the Radical Left. NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER! President DJT.”
A state law barring the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) from sharing information about Lifeline program subscribers with other government agencies, including immigration authorities, means the state can no longer do its own Lifeline subscriber verifications, according to the FCC. The Wireline Bureau ordered Thursday that the state could no longer opt out of using the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) federal verification system. "Going forward, federal processes will be used to conduct eligibility verifications and perform duplicate checks for federal Lifeline program applicants in California."