• HBO Complains To Periscope About Piracy
    HBO says that people used Twitter's Periscope to livestream the fifth-season premiere of Game of Thrones on Sunday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The network said it sent takedown notices, but thinks that developers should use tools that “proactively prevent mass copyright infringement from occurring on their apps.”
  • Net Neutrality Rules Protect Broadcasters, FCC Chairman Says
    Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler told broadcasters today that net neutrality rules will protect their ability to reach consumers online, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The open Internet order “safeguards an increasingly important distribution channel for your most important product -- local news and information,” he reportedly said at a meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters. "It assures that your use of the Internet will be free from the risk of discrimination or hold up by a gatekeeper."
  • AT&T Challenges Net Neutrality Rules
    AT&T this week joined trade groups US Telecom, the American Cable Association, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and CTIA in filing suit to challenge the new net neutrality rules. All of the lawsuits challenge the Federal Communications Commission's decision to reclassify broadband service as a utility, Cnet reports. AT&T and CTIA also are challenging the agency's decision to subject wireless broadband to net neutrality rules.
  • Verizon Touts Data Caps As Pro-Consumer
    Tech analyst Jack Gold argues in a blog post, published by Verizon, that data caps benefit consumers, BGR reports. Gold says that unlimited data plans would spur customers to consumer more data, which could result in network congestion. Carriers would then be forced to upgrade their networks and pass the cost along to subscribers, Gold says.
  • Calif. Regulator Wants To Block Comcast Merger With Time Warner
    California Public Utilities Commissioner Mike Florio wants regulators to block Comcast's $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable, the Los Angeles Times reports. "This transaction is not in the public interest," he wrote in an 89-page proposal. Florio reportedly raised concerns about how deal would affect the quality of cable TV service, as well as concerns about privacy and high-speed Internet service.
  • Time Warner Cable Boosts Speeds In Charlotte, N.C.
    In hopes of preventing subscribers from switching to Google Fiber, Time Warner Cable is boosting speeds available to subscribers in Charlotte, N.C., ArsTechnica reports. Time Warner subscribers who currently receive up to 15 Mbps will now get up to 50 Mbps, while customers who currently receive up to 50 Mbps will now get up to 300 Mbps. The move comes three months after Google announced plans to roll out its 1 GB fiber service to Charlotte.
  • 'Game Of Thrones' Sees Spike In Piracy
    The upcoming season premiere of HBO's "Game of Thrones" appears to be spurring fans to download pirated versions of the show, according to The Guardian. In the last two months, people have donwloaded more than 7 million episodes from all four seasons, according to a new report by the anti-piracy firm Irdeto. That number represents a 45% increase from the same time period last year.
  • Facebook Faces Privacy Class-Action In EU
    Austrian law graduate Max Schrems has filed a class-action privacy lawsuit against Facebook, The Guardian reports. “Basically we are asking Facebook to stop mass surveillance, to (have) a proper privacy policy that people can understand, but also to stop collecting data of people that are not even Facebook users,” Schrems said, according to the UK newspaper.  
  • GOP Lawmaker Seeks To Cancel Net Neutrality Rules
    Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) says he will introduce a “resolution of disapproval” of the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules, The Hill reports. Collins will introduce the measure next Tuesday, when Congress returns from its recess. Even if passed, the resolution will likely be vetoed, according to The Hill.
  • YouTube Blocks Rand Paul's Campaign Announcement Over Copyright Concerns
    YouTube blocked a clip of Sen. Rand Paul's presidential announcement after it was flagged for potential copyright infringement by the automated Content ID system, the Washington Post reports. The clip, which was blocked the same day it was posted, reportedly showed Paul entering and leaving while John Rich's song “Shuttin' Detroit Down” played in the background.
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