Digital media company Meet Kevin sued CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery for refusing to offer social media companies broadcast licenses for the CNN presidential debate that was set for Thursday between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, said an antitrust complaint Thursday (docket 2:24-cv-05441) in U.S. District Court for Central California.
The federal TikTok ban that takes effect Jan. 19 is “unprecedented” because Congress has never “expressly singled out and shut down a specific speech forum,” said TikTok/ByteDance's opening brief Thursday (docket 24-1113) in the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit challenging the ban’s constitutionality (see 2405070045).
IGN Entertainment integrates at least one application programming interface (API) that lets companies open their application data and functionality to external third-party developers and business partners, alleged a Video Privacy Protection Act class action Tuesday (docket 1:24-cv-11579) in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts in Boston.
SiriusXM falsely advertises its music plans at lower prices than it charges by embedding its subscribers’ monthly bills with an inconspicuous 21.4% “U.S. music royalty fee,” alleged four Oregon residents in an Unlawful Trade Practices Act class action Friday (docket 3:24-cv-00955) in U.S. District Court for Oregon in Portland. Kara Kirkpatrick and Gillian Maxfield of Portland, Anna DeMarco of Marcola and Cody Michael of Salem filed the suit. SiriusXM intentionally doesn’t disclose the fee to its subscribers, nor does it mention the fee in its advertising, “including in the fine print,” said the complaint. Once consumers have been lured to sign up, SiriusXM “prevents them from learning about its scheme by never thereafter sending them monthly or ongoing billing notices or invoices,” it said. All the while, SiriusXM “silently and automatically renews their subscriptions month after month and year after year,” it said. The complaint is the latest of several filed throughout the U.S. challenging SiriusXM’s pricing practices, including at least one case, Stevenson et al v. SiriusXM (docket 23-4018), that has reached the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2312080023).
Information provided to investors by Roblox and four executives in November included “false” statements related to revenue guidance for Q1 2024 and the full fiscal year, alleged a Securities Exchange Act class action (docket 3:24-cv-03484) Monday in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco. The individual defendants are CEO David Baszucki, Chief Financial Officer Michael Guthrie, Chief Product Officer Manuel Bronstein and Chief Partnerships Officer Christina Wootton.
Dish Network and Sling TV filed a pair of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaints Friday, alleging violations of the anti-trafficking provision of the law, plus the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
The FCC urged the 6th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court Friday to move the challenge to the FCC’s net neutrality order to the D.C. Circuit (docket 24-3450). The FCC also issued an order declining to stay the rules, which take effect July 22, pending judicial review.
Tilson Technology Management, a telecommunications services firm, wrongfully failed to pay the invoices of Eustis Cable Enterprises, a company that’s in the business of installing fiber optic cable for internet and cable television, alleged Eustis’ breach of contract complaint Wednesday (docket 2:24-cv-00620) in U.S. District Court for Vermont. Tilson contracts with cable and internet companies to design and install fiber optic cable networks, sometimes subcontracting the installation work to other companies, like Eustis, said the complaint. In 2022, Tilson solicited Eustis to perform installation work in Vermont, Connecticut and New York, it said. After some negotiations between Tilson and Eustis, the parties agreed that Eustis would perform the work of installing fiber optic cable for Tilson as a subcontractor for Tilson’s customers, including Verizon, it said. The work that Eustis performed “complied with the contractual standards for installation established by the parties,” said the complaint. Tilson’s customer, Verizon, “had no complaints,” and Tilson was “fully satisfied with the work” that Eustis performed, it said. The work was billed “consistent with the established pricing and procedures,” it said. But Tilson failed to pay Eustis the $1.46 million in fees that Eustis invoiced, the complaint said. Tilson “has no defense to this claim for nonpayment,” it said: “It simply chose not to pay.” The defendant’s failure to pay the submitted invoices “constitutes a breach of the contract for work” between Tilson and Eustis, said the complaint. That breach has caused “direct financial harm” to Eustis, and Tilson’s failure to pay is a violation of Vermont’s Prompt Pay Act, it said.
Spectrum Effect, provider of RF interference analysis and mitigation solutions to the wireless industry, hires former Nokia North America President Shaun McCarthy as president and chief revenue officer ... AST SpaceMobile, developer of space-based cellular broadband network accessible from “everyday smartphones,” adds former Vodafone and Ericsson executive Johan Wibergh to its board; Wibergh also will chair AST board’s newly formed network planning and spectrum committee ... Martello Technologies Group announces resignation of former BT Group Managing Director Mike Galvin from its board for personal reasons ... Everbridge, supplier of national public warning software solutions, hires Pamela Larson, ex-Twilio, as chief security officer, North America ... Cyble, AI-driven cybersecurity solutions provider, adds former EY executive Steve Ingram to its advisory board ... Boomi, intelligent integration and automation platform, promotes Chief Accounting Officer Jessica Soisson to chief financial officer.
NetChoice and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), having filed dueling motions for summary judgment May 3 in U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio over the state's social media parental notification law (see 2405060004), followed that up Monday with dueling responses in opposition (docket 2:24-cv-00047).