Court case

Developments in telecommunications policy being made in the legal system.

The Most Important Privacy Case You've Never Heard Of

One of the most important privacy cases you’ve never heard of is being litigated right now in a federal district court in Maine. ACA v. Frey is a challenge by the nation’s largest broadband Internet access providers to a Maine law that protects the privacy of the state's broadband Internet users.

Court Approves Windstream Restructuring Plan, Eyes August Bankruptcy Exit

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved a Windstream bankruptcy exit reorganization plan. With the restructuring plan approved, the company expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a privately held company in late August. The restructured company will cut its debt by about two thirds, a total of $4 billion, and will have access to approximately $2 billion in new capital to expand 1 Gig Internet service in rural America. 

Lawsuit contends Michael Pack has broken federal guarantees of broadcasters' journalistic independence

New US Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack swept into office like a man on a mission, firing the top executives and advisory boards of federally funded international broadcasters.

Facebook Loses Antitrust Decision in Germany Over Data Collection

In a decision that could further embolden European governments to take on large tech platforms, Germany’s top court, the Federal Court of Justice, ruled that Facebook had abused its dominance in social media to illegally harvest data about its users. The authorities said Facebook broke competition laws by combining data it collected about users across its different platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as from outside websites and third-party apps. In Germany, Facebook now must alter how it processes data about its users.

Internet Archive Will End Its Program for Free E-Books

The nonprofit has said its National Emergency Library was a public service to people unable to access libraries during the pandemic, but publishers and authors accused it of theft.

FCC to Court: Deny Huawei

The Federal Communications Commission told the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that Huawei is wrong on all counts in its challenge to the FCC's decision to exclude suspect tech in general from its Universal Service Fund subsidies and, tentatively, Huawei in particular. Even if the FCC had not moved to exclude technology deemed a national security threat from the Universal Service Fund dollars, Congress seconded that with legislation that required it.  The FCC filed in court with Huawei's appeal of the FCC decision, saying the court can make its decision based on those briefs but t

Suit Challenges President’s Executive Order Targeting First Amendment Protected Speech

The Center for Democracy & Technology filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s “Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship,” signed May 28, 2020. The suit argues that the Executive Order violates the First Amendment by curtailing and chilling the constitutionally protected speech of online platforms and individuals. 

In YouTube Censorship Case, US Backs Internet Law Trump Scorns

In a censorship case filed against YouTube by LGBTQ content creators, the US Justice Department is defending the law that protects internet companies from lawsuits -- the same statute President Donald Trump has threatened to revoke.

Publishers Sue Internet Archive Over Free E-Books

A group of publishers sued Internet Archive, saying that the nonprofit group’s trove of free electronic copies of books is robbing authors and publishers of revenue at a moment when it is desperately needed. Internet Archive has made more than 1.3 million books available for free online, according to the complaint, which were scanned and available to one borrower at a time for a period of 14 days.

Opening the Door on Breakups

Private parties have a right to challenge a merger after it has been completed, the Justice Department (DOJ) told an appeals court, in a case with big implications for future antitrust break-ups. Jeld-Wen, one of the country’s biggest manufacturers of doors, is seeking to overturn a court order that would unwind its 2012 merger with rival Craftmaster International and require it to pay $176 million in lost profits to Steves & Sons, a customer who sued over the deal.