Arstechnica
The FCC is weighing in on behalf of Louisville, Kentucky, which recently passed an ordinance that would make it easier for Google Fiber to access utility poles in the city. AT&T recently sued Louisville over that ordinance. The FCC said today that one of AT&T's key arguments is wrong.
Dslreports
Cox is expanding its data caps to Florida and Georgia, where it will now charge people overage fees for exceeding limits ranging from 150 GB to 1 TB a month. "Beginning 11/21/2016, Cox is moving to a new billing method based on data usage that will help keep future costs reasonable for the majority of customers by charging the heaviest Internet users more," the company said in a notice to customers.
BBC
European privacy regulators have asked WhatsApp to stop sharing data with Facebook pending an investigation. The regulators said they had "serious concerns" about recent changes to WhatsApp's privacy policy.
Dslreports
Verizon's new Stream Pass service, which lets mobile users access streams of sports games, will exempt some will exempt some programs from data caps. The service will zero-rate five NFL games per week, and 1,000 live soccer matches each year.
Arstechnica
Hollywood insiders are leaking movies to file-sharing sites, a new lawsuit brought by Warner Bros. suggests. Warner Bros. alleges that the talent agency Innovative Artists uploaded DVD screeners and other movies to a shared Google drive folder.
Hollywood Reporter
A federal appellate court has largely sided against MP3Tunes in a 10-year-old lawsuit over online copyright infringement by users. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said in its ruling that MP3Tunes may be liable for infringement based on its alleged failure to terminate accounts of people who repeatedly downloaded tracks, even if those users didn't know they were infringing copyright.
Consumerist
Lawmakers are questioning federal agencies about tools that could prevent future hacking via Internet of Things devices. The move comes several days after a denial of service attack resulted in the temporary shutdown of Twitter, Reddit and other sites. That attack is thought to have stemmed from security weaknesses in connected devices, including Webcams.
The Recorder
Review site PissedConsumer.com says it was the target of a "brilliant but incredibly unethical" effort to squelch bad reviews on the site. The company that runs the site sued a host of defendants, including two lawyers, for allegedly bringing sham defamation lawsuits against "stooge defendants." The stooge defendants, who only pretended that they authored the bad reviews posted to PissedConsumer.com, stipulated in court that the reviews were defamatory, according to the complaint. Those stipulated judgments allegedly were then presented to search engines, who de-indexed the bad reviews. …
Time
"In an age where reliable and affordable internet access is an absolute necessity, we believe that you shouldn’t have to give up your day in court to go online," FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) write in a new op-ed. "That’s why we’re teaming up to try to eliminate mandatory arbitration clauses in telecom contracts."
Arstechnica
AT&T's proposed merger with Time Warner will be reviewed by the Department of Justice, but may not also face review by the Federal Communications Commission. That's because Time Warner only has one broadcast station regulated by the FCC.