An FTC investigation of YouTube for improperly getting kids' data when they watch videos targeted at them is nearing an end and a fine is possible, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Groups complained the Google affiliate violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (see 1804090036). The company and agency declined to comment. This investigation "is long overdue,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. “Kids flock to YouTube every day, but the company has yet to take the necessary steps to protect its youngest users." Markey said in coming weeks, he will introduce legislation to "combat online design features that coerce children and create bad habits, commercialization and marketing that manipulate kids and push them into consumer culture, and the amplification of inappropriate and harmful content on the internet."

The silence in response to retransmission consent offers by AT&T resulting in 21 stations in 17 markets going dark on DirecTV and U-verse systems violates the FCC's per se good-faith rules, AT&T said in a heavily redacted docket 12-1 good faith complaint Tuesday. It said the nine station groups -- seemingly controlled or operated by Sinclair -- left AT&T-owned DirecTV and U-Verse either on May 30 or June 10, and the station groups' conduct "violates both the letter and the intent" of good-faith negotiation rules. "They have simply refused to negotiate" by either rejecting particular AT&T terms or offering their own proposals, the telco said. It said even if not a per se violation, their not negotiating in good faith fails the total of circumstances test. It asked for an order that the groups begin negotiating in good faith, and unspecified forfeitures. Named in the complaint were Deerfield Media, GoCom Media, Howard Stirk Holdings, Mercury Broadcasting, MPS Media, KMTR-TV, Nashville License Holdings, Second Generation of Iowa and Waitt Broadcasting. The 17 TV markets are in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. AT&T said Sinclair had a financial interest in each and indicated it has significant control over them. Sinclair said Wednesday that while it provides services to the stations referenced in the AT&T complaint, it's "not involved in any way with the retransmission consent negotiations that are the subject of the complaint." Cable lawyer Craig Gilley of Mintz told us MVPDs often mull bringing a good-faith negotiation complaint as retrans deadlines near expiration, but few do because the FCC signaled it generally won't do anything with those complaints except in the most clear-cut cases. He said most disputes between broadcasters and MVPDs boil down to economics at that late stage, and the agency has been loathe to do anything that might be seen as government influencing the price of content. Broadcast lawyer Dan Kirkpatrick of Fletcher Heald said such complaints also are rare because requirements to meet a legitimate good-faith violation are very specific and an impasse isn't a basis. When such complaints do get filed, the sides typically come to agreement before the FCC has a chance to decide on the complaint, Kirkpatrick said.

VidAngel said it plans to appeal a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles jury's awarding of $62.4 million in damages to Hollywood studio plaintiffs that alleged Copyright Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations for streaming their content to subscribers without permission (see 1708110038). VidAngel said Monday the ruling was "unfortunate, but it has not lessened our resolve to save filtering for families." It said it also will "explore options in the bankruptcy court" and "checks and balances" in the court system but didn't elaborate. Parents TV Council President Tim Winter said the judgment "may sound the death knell for content filtering unless the Congress steps forward to update the Family Movie Act of 2005."

The Media Bureau seeks comment on a petition from NBCUniversal for a limited waiver of FCC video description requirements for its USA Network and other top-five nonbroadcast networks, said a public notice in Friday's Daily Digest. NBCU wants waiver of video description rules until June 30, 2021, provided USA carries at least a 1,000 hours of described programming -- both repeats and new -- each quarter, and describes 75 percent of newly produced programming aired between 6 a.m. and midnight per quarter, the PN said. Video description rules require MVPDs to provide 87.5 hours of described programming per quarter on channels on which they carry a top-five national nonbroadcast network -- which includes USA. The rules also limit how much repeat programming can count toward the requirements and mandates described content to be aired either on prime time and during children’s programming. USA doesn’t televise regularly scheduled children’s programming and has a lineup highly focused on repeats, so it needs a waiver to allow MVPDs to carry it and still follow the video description rules, the PN said. Comments are due July 12, replies July 26.

Oral argument in Block Communications' appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit of an FCC market modification order for WHIO-TV Dayton (see 1904230052) is 9 a.m. Aug. 7 in Cincinnati, said a docket 18-4137 notice (in Pacer) Friday. Each side gets 15 minutes.

Frontier Communications joined the American TV Alliance, the retransmission consent advocacy group said Thursday.

Broadcast TV transitioning to 4K will be a “matter of time,” and an evolution to 8K broadcasts is well off, said Sharp Home Electronics President Jim Sanduski. The in-home ecosystem required to handle increased bandwidth required for a fatter 8K signal is “evolving quite nicely” with the ratification of Wi-Fi 6 and with 5G on the horizon, he said at CE Week in New York Thursday. Samsung’s Andrew Sivori, vice president-TV product marketing, said a quarter of U.S. households today can handle 75 Mbps data speeds. That's the high end of what 8K transmissions will demand, he said. “That’s only going to get better and better over time," he said. Value Electronics President Robert Zohn is a proponent for over-the-air 4K and 8K content -- “as they do in Japan and South Korea.” Zohn said he’s been told by contacts in those industries that “when the TV manufacturers are ready, we’ll be ready." He cited ATSC 3.0 and the ability to deliver 8K content over the air, via IP or over the top, and spoke glowingly of the possibilities for sports via 8K broadcasts: “Can you imagine sports at 120 frames per second?" Zohn imagined the ability to have a replay of a wide-angle shot with digital zoom: “You can do that with 8K.” Tim Alessi, LG senior director-product marketing, downplayed the lack of available native 8K content. He compared that to early days of HDTV: “All of a sudden, boom, there it all was.”

The FCC is seeking nominations for members of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment, said a public notice in Tuesday's Daily Digest. Though the committee's charter runs out July 5, the General Services Administration approved its renewal for two years. The FCC is “particularly interested” in nominations from organizations representing disadvantaged communities, small businesses, government agencies, broadcasters, MVPDs, public interest groups and others, the PN said. Nominations are due July 10. The ACDDE's final meeting of the current charter is June 24 (see 1906060024).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has “serious constitutional and statutory concerns” about a proposal by House Commerce Committee Vice Chair Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., to reinstate Form 395-B to collect data on the broadcast workforce's racial, ethnic and gender diversity. Clarke and Van Hollen wrote Pai in May urging him to reinstate Form 395-B because the absence of that diversity data “limited” the agency's ability to “evaluate” potential discrimination by broadcasters (see 1905130065). Pai said in a letter released Monday that his concerns about Form 395-B “have been shared by Commission leadership under both Democratic and Republican Administrations, which is why the Commission has not adopted these reforms” since it first considered reinstating Form 395-B. The FCC's draft equal employment opportunity enforcement NPRM (see 1904290176) will “address how the agency can make improvements to equal employment opportunity compliance and enforcement,” Pai said. He detailed other actions during his chairmanship to “enhance diversity within the communications industry,” including reestablishing the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (see 1906110048) and FCC approval of an order to create a radio incubator program (see 1906110052).

Google Assistant is now available on the Google Waze navigation app for Android phones, blogged the company Monday. Users can ask Google, in English, for information such as a traffic report or a route that’s toll-free, said Austin Chang, director-Google Assistant. Chang promoted voice commands as a way to minimize distractions on the road so drivers can keep hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.