Barr

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump met with nine Republican attorneys general on Wednesday to discuss the fate of a legal immunity for internet companies after the Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at reforming the same law.

Trump met with state attorneys general from Texas, Arizona, Utah, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Missouri and West Virginia.

The White House said they discussed how the attorneys general can utilize existing legal recourses at the state level – in an effort to weaken the law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability over content posted by users.

After the meeting, Trump told reporters he expects to come to a conclusion on the issue of technology platforms within a short period. It was not immediately clear what conclusion he was referring to.

He also said his administration is watching the performance of tech platforms in the run-up to the Nov. 3 presidential election.

“In recent years, a small group of powerful technology platforms have tightened their grip over commerce and communications in America,” Trump said. “Every year countless Americans are banned, blacklisted and silenced through arbitrary or malicious enforcement of ever-shifting rules,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal that seeks to reform Section 230. It followed through on Trump’s bid earlier this year to crack down on tech giants after Twitter Inc placed warning labels on Trump tweets, saying they have included potentially misleading information about mail-in voting.

The Justice Department’s bill would need congressional approval and is not likely to see action until next year at the earliest. There are several pieces of legislation doing the rounds in Congress that seek to curb the same immunity. It was not immediately clear whether the Justice Department will support any single piece of legislation that has already been proposed.

Any such bill would have to win the support of the Republicans who control the Senate and the Democrats who control the House of Representatives in order to become law. Such legislation’s future would be further complicated if the Democrats regain control of the Senate or win the White House.

The Justice Department proposal primarily states that when internet companies “willfully distribute illegal material or moderate content in bad faith, Section 230 should not shield them from the consequences of their actions.”

It proposes a series of reforms to ensure internet companies are transparent about their decisions when removing content and when they should be held responsible for speech they modify. It also revises existing definitions of Section 230 with more concrete language that offers more guidance to users and courts.

It also incentivizes online platforms to address illicit content and pushes for more clarity on federal civil enforcement actions.

Attorney General William Barr said in a statement the administration was urging “Congress to make these necessary reforms to Section 230 and begin to hold online platforms accountable both when they unlawfully censor speech and when they knowingly facilitate egregious criminal activity online.”

In June, the Justice Department proposed that Congress take up legislation to curb this immunity. This was after Trump in May signed an executive order that seeks new regulatory oversight of tech firms’ content moderation decisions and backed legislation to scrap or weaken Section 230.

Trump in May also directed the Commerce Department to file a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to limit protections under Section 230. The petition is still pending.

The Internet Association – a group representing major internet companies including Facebook, Amazon.com, and Google, said the Justice Department’s proposal would severely limit people’s ability to express themselves and have a safe experience online.

The group’s deputy general counsel, Elizabeth Banker, said moderation efforts that remove misinformation, platform manipulation and cyberbullying would all result in lawsuits under this proposal.

Reporting by David Shepardson and Nandita Bose in Washington; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Diane Bartz and Eric Beech in Washington and Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham, Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis

Comcast has switched back on its data caps and overlimit fees, but is upping allowances 20% — to 1.2 TB, after several years of a 1 TB allowance. Earlier this week, less stingy Cox boosted its caps by 25% to 1.25 TB.

But what Comcast giveth with one hand, it taketh away with the other. Previously, customers that found themselves over the limit had two ‘get out of overlimit fees free’ cards per year, which meant overlimit fees did not apply. Now the company is reducing that to just one free pass per year. But be careful. If you exceed your allowance two or more times during a 12-month period starting with your first instance of going over your allowance, you will receive no more free passes, ever. If you have already exceeded your allowance during 2020, don’t worry, Comcast is resetting their counter to zero this one time.

Exceeding your allowance is costly. Comcast will bill you $10 for each 50 GB you exceed their cap, up to a maximum of $100 a month.

There are three ways to avoid Comcast’s data caps:

First, you can live in a state where Comcast does not cap internet usage. Most of those states are in the northeast. Unfortunately, most states are now data capped by Comcast: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Western Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Utah, Southwest Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Note, data caps do not currently apply to Xfinity Internet customers on Gigabit Pro service, Business Internet customers, customers on non-upgradable Bulk Internet agreements (condos, apartments, etc.), or customers with Prepaid Internet.

Second, you can choose the xFi Complete option for a costly $25/month. It includes unlimited data, whole home Wi-Fi service, and a xFi Gateway, including “Advanced Security” to block certain malicious website activity. If you bought these separately, it would cost $44/month. If you already lease a xFi Gateway, you can upgrade to xFi complete for an additional $11/month.

Third, you can purchase Unlimited Data for $30/month if you own and use your own cable modem and router. Existing customers can upgrade to the Unlimited Data plan now by calling 1-800-Xfinity or clicking here.

Data caps, allowances, and overlimit fees are completely arbitrary and do not reflect the actual cost of usage. Comcast argues that heavier users should pay more, even though their cost is nearly the same regardless of usage.

Cable ONE today announced it has acquired family owned cable operator Fidelity Communications, in a $525.9 million cash deal.

Fidelity serves 134,000 residential and business customers in smaller communities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Cable ONE showed interest in Fidelity because many of its small cable systems are not too far away from existing Cable ONE systems that also target smaller communities.

Fidelity systems typically sell broadband at speeds of 50 Mbps ($64.99) and 100 Mbps ($89.99).

Fidelity does not usage cap its customers, Cable ONE does.

Cable ONE has also been criticized for charging the highest price residential broadband service in the country.

Fidelity currently serves customers in:

Arkansas
Alexander
Bauxite
Beebe
Benton
Bryant
Cherokee Village
Hardy
Haskell
Hensley
Highland
Little Rock
Mabelvale
Mammoth Springs
Maumelle
North Little Rock
Pulaski
Shannon Hills

Louisiana
Erwinville
Glynn
Jarreau
Lakeland
Morganza
New Roads
Oscar
Rougon
Ventress

Missouri
Adrian
Buffalo
El Dorado Springs
Gerald
Harrisonville
Lebanon
Nevada
New Haven
Owensville
Rolla
Salem
Sullivan
Thayer
West Plains

Oklahoma
Lawton

Texas
Atlanta
Carthage
Hallsville
Jefferson
Marshall
Queen City

Windstream Holdings, Inc. filed bankruptcy this afternoon, citing its inability to cover $5.8 billion in outstanding debt.

The independent phone company, which provides legacy landline and broadband service to around 1.4 million customers in 18 states, filed voluntary to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, citing a judge’s decision almost two weeks ago that the company defaulted on its obligations.

“Following a comprehensive review of our options, including an appeal, the Board of Directors and management team determined that filing for voluntary Chapter 11 protection is a necessary step to address the financial impact of Judge Furman’s decision and the impact it would have on consumers and businesses across the states in which we operate,” said Tony Thomas, president and chief executive officer of Windstream. “Taking this proactive step will ensure that Windstream has access to the capital and resources we need to continue building on Windstream’s strong operational momentum while we engage in constructive discussions with our creditors regarding the terms of a consensual plan of reorganization.”

Windstream received a commitment from Citigroup Global Markets Inc. for $1 billion in debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing. Assuming a bankruptcy judge approves of the arrangement, Windstream claims this stop-gap financing will allow it to run its current business as usual.

Windstream provides residential service in 18 states including: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.

The company claims it was forced into bankruptcy after a judge found Windstream’s attempt in 2015 to shift its valuable fiber optic network assets off its own books into a sheltered real estate investment trust (REIT) named Uniti Group violated the rights of bondholders which hold some of Windstream’s debt. Those debts are backed, in part, by the valuable fiber optic assets Windstream had  spun them off to a new entity. In fact, Uniti’s fiber optic assets are essential to Windstream’s viability. The phone company has the exclusive right to use Uniti’s fiber assets and two-thirds of Uniti’s revenue comes from Windstream, making the two companies inseparable.

Windstream’s bankruptcy is a concern to investors of both companies because it will allow Windstream to renegotiate the terms of its contract with its fiber partner. Windstream customers are equally concerned because the phone company needs Uniti’s network to manage its broadband service.

The judge’s decision on Feb. 15 to declare the arrangement inappropriate was reportedly a shock to the investor community, which has made money buying repackaged corporate debt in the form of bonds for years. Corporations have issued bonds to retire older debt, while giving investors a piece of the action. Since investors are making money, they typically do not complain too loudly about the persistence of corporate debt, frequently repackaged in new bonds. As a result, companies can hold onto more cash used to pay shareholder dividends and executive compensation instead of permanently retiring debt.

Aurelius, a hedge fund, is making some of its money scrutinizing these arrangements looking for contract violations such as the Uniti spinoff. When it finds one, it takes a stake in the company and then threatens to sue as a harmed investor. Based on the judge’s decision, Aurelius won a judgment that will effectively empty the pockets of many of the bondholders and investors that could lose a lot of their investments because of the bankruptcy. If the hedge fund is going to actively seek other questionable arrangements or violations of bondholders’ rights at other companies, it could cause an earthquake in an investment community that has quietly conspired with companies to generate transactions that enrich investors while allowing companies to carry more debt.

Customers could end up covering some of the costs of today’s bankruptcy filing if Windstream files a plan with the Bankruptcy Court promising to raise prices to help it demonstrate ongoing viability.

Windstream’s Thomas complained the phone company is little more than a victim of a predatory hedge fund out to enrich itself at the expense of others.

“The company believes that Aurelius engaged in predatory market manipulation to advance its own financial position through credit default swaps at the expense of many thousands of shareholders, lenders, employees, customers, vendors and business partners,” Thomas said. “Windstream stands by its decision to defend itself and try to block Aurelius’ tactics in court. The time is well-past for regulators to carefully examine the ramifications of an unregulated credit default swap marketplace.”

YouTube TV, which offers cable-free live television, today announced it now offers local network affiliates covering over 98% of the U.S., allowing consumers in smaller cities to cut the cord and still keep good reception from most local, over-the-air stations.

Since launching almost two years ago, YouTube TV has gradually added local stations from most metro areas, but many smaller markets were not covered. Effective today, YouTube TV adds most local ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and some independent stations in these areas:

• Alabama: Dothan, Montgomery-Selma
• Alaska: Anchorage, Fairbanks
• Arkansas: Jonesboro, Monroe-El Dorado
• California: Bakersfield, Chico-Reading, Eureka, Monterey-Salinas, Palm Springs, Yuma-El Centro
• Colorado: Grand Junction
• Florida: Panama City, Tallahassee-Thomasville
• Georgia: Albany, Augusta-Aiken, Gainesville, Macon
• Idaho: Boise, Idaho Falls-Pocatello, Twin Falls
• Indiana: Evansville, Ft. Wayne, Lafayette, Terre Haute
• Illinois: Peoria-Bloomington, Rockford
• Iowa: Davenport-Rock Island-Moline, Ottumwa-Kirksville, Sioux City
• Kansas: Topeka
• Louisiana: Alexandria, Lake Charles
• Maine: Bangor, Presque Isle
• Massachusetts: Springfield-Holyoke
• Michigan: Lansing, Marquette, Traverse City
• Minnesota: Duluth-Superior, Mankato, Rochester-Mason City-Austin
• Mississippi: Biloxi-Gulfport, Columbus-Tupelo, Greenwood-Greenville, Meridian
• Missouri: Columbia-Jefferson City, Joplin-Pittsburg, St. Joseph
• Montana: Billings, Butte-Bozeman, Great Falls, Missoula
• Nebraska: Lincoln, North Platte
• Nevada: Reno
• New York: Binghamton, Elmira-Corning, Utica, Watertown
• North Carolina: Wilmington
• North Dakota: Fargo, Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson (Williston)
• Ohio: Bowling Green, Lima
• Oregon: Bend, Eugene, Medford-Klamath Falls
• Pennsylvania: Erie, Johnstown-Altoona
• South Carolina: Myrtle Beach
• South Dakota: Rapid City, Sioux Falls
• Texas: Amarillo, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Lubbock, Odessa-Midland, San Angelo-Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo, Sherman-Ada, Tyler-Longview (Lufkin & Nacogdoches), Wichita Falls
• Virginia: Charlottesville, Harrisonburg
• Washington: Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick
• West Virginia: Bluefield-Beckley-Oak, Clarksburg-Weston, Parkersburg, Wheeling-Steubenville
• Wisconsin: La Crosse, Wausau-Rhinelander
• Wyoming: Cheyenne-Scottsbluff

Additional small markets will be added later.

YouTube TV offers over 60 networks, on-demand programming, cloud DVR service with no storage limit and unlimited simultaneous recordings, up to six personal accounts (three simultaneous stream limit), for $40 a month.