Streaming Regulation, Codec Licensing & Media Policy News

The article explains GAFAM (Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft) as five tech giants that control essential digital infrastructure, including search, hardware, and social media. It highlights their role as gatekeepers for content distribution and advertising professionals through platforms like YouTube and Prime Video. The piece discusses how their market power has led to ongoing discussions about privacy, competition, and potential regulation.

Analysis of patent filings for 5G technologies indicates that high-bandwidth standards like eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband) and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications) peaked in 2022, following earlier 2021 peaks for NB-IoT and eMTC. These 5G technologies support high-definition video and extended reality applications, while 6G research is now prioritizing native AI integration and lower data latency. The study highlights how patent data reflects the progression and development of IoT-related wireless communication standards.

The UK government is considering new restrictions on online gaming platforms like Fortnite and Roblox to prevent children from interacting with strangers. Online safety minister Kanishka Narayan indicated potential measures impacting features such as chat for minors, influenced by Australia's social media ban. The government has not yet finalized a decision on these proposed restrictions.

Meta is expanding content safety settings for teen accounts globally across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. These updates aim to limit exposure to inappropriate content and are testing restrictions on posts related to body image and mental health. The changes follow a $4.2 million jury verdict finding Meta negligent for harming teens through its app design.

Indian broadcasters are preparing to appeal a Delhi High Court decision to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) power to enforce a 12-minute-per-hour advertising cap. The ruling, delivered on May 29, is projected to threaten Rs 26,300 crore in annual television ad revenue and could broaden TRAI's regulatory oversight into content strategy. Broadcasters argue that compliance will severely impact business economics, with advertising contributing significantly to their total revenue.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has launched Merkhet Solutions to commercialize the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS). BPS is a GPS-independent technology that utilizes ATSC 3.0 infrastructure and existing U.S. broadcast towers to deliver precise time and location signals. The new company will focus on deploying BPS in critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, telecommunications, data centers, and financial services, providing a terrestrial alternative or complement to satellite-based GPS.

A new report indicates that Amazon, Microsoft, and Google collectively control 85% of Canada's cloud infrastructure market. This finding is released as the Canadian government prepares to roll out an official AI strategy that will address data sovereignty and domestic computing capacity issues related to this market concentration.

The broadcast industry's ongoing debates regarding NextGen TV's DRM, tuner mandates, and ATSC 1.0 sunset are risking its adoption and economic viability. Rights holders increasingly demand robust DRM for premium content, while audience behavior shifts towards streaming platforms. The article highlights the tension between consumer simplicity, rights holder protection, OEM interoperability, and broadcaster economic sustainability.

Smart TV manufacturers in India have asked TRAI to exclude them from proposed regulations for FAST and application-based linear television distribution services, arguing that content liability should rest with application providers. The manufacturers contend their role is solely to provide hardware and operating systems, not to curate or distribute content. This consultation highlights a division between traditional broadcasters seeking regulatory parity and streaming platforms asserting their services fall under existing digital governance.

The FCC has launched an investigation into Bridge News regarding potential violations of disclosure rules for control changes at 83 of its stations. The probe will examine whether to revoke the licenses for these stations. This action represents a regulatory review of media ownership and licensing.

Rep. Jim Jordan has invited NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to testify before Congress regarding the league's broadcast deals and compliance with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. This congressional scrutiny, set for a June 10 hearing, aligns with a Justice Department investigation into the NFL's streaming practices for potential anticompetitive behavior. The focus is on whether the league's shift of games to paywalled streaming services harms consumers and necessitates updates to the 65-year-old antitrust exemption.

A report by 3 Reasons for Freely indicates that the number of UK households without broadband fell by 30% between 2023 and 2025, significantly exceeding previous forecasts of a 10% decline. This data supports potential government initiatives to phase out digital terrestrial television, with updated forecasts suggesting only 220,000 homes will lack broadband by 2034, a quarter of earlier projections.

A draft proposal by the European Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) for EU cloud services suggests new rules that could require cloud providers handling sensitive government and critical infrastructure data to be headquartered and operated within the EU. These rules could effectively prevent US hyperscalers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure from accessing high-security tenders in sectors such as banking and healthcare. The proposal, intended to protect sensitive data from foreign laws, has raised concerns about competition and potential protectionism within the tech industry.

A petition on the UK Parliamentary website, reaching 20,000 signatures, calls for the £180 annual TV license fee to be completely removed for all state pensioners. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is now required to respond to this proposal, which seeks to provide financial relief to pensioners and would impact funding for services covered by the license. The TV license currently covers linear broadcast, live streaming services, and BBC iPlayer, with exemptions only for those receiving means-tested Pension Credit.

Ohio has suspended its Data Center Sales Tax Exemption program, effective immediately for new applications, after an analysis revealed a loss of $1.5 billion in state revenue with limited job creation. While current and approved data center projects will retain their tax breaks, the state aims to re-evaluate incentives given the increasing demands on land, water, and power grids from hyperscalers. This decision signals a broader re-evaluation in states regarding the costs and benefits of data center tax incentives.

President Trump signed an executive order establishing a voluntary 30-day window for AI companies to submit new models for government review before public release. This narrower order was implemented after industry objections to a previous draft and explicitly avoids mandatory licensing requirements. The order also directs the Department of Justice to prioritize enforcement against AI-assisted hacking and unauthorized access.

North Carolina House lawmakers are fast-tracking Senate Bill 730, the "Ratepayer Protection Act," which aims to regulate data centers and mandate nuclear power in the state. The legislation proposes rules for data center development, such as noise studies, water/air quality impact assessments, and requiring closed-loop water systems, while also prohibiting the retirement of baseload power plants until replaced by nuclear resources. Concerns have been raised by the Data Center Coalition regarding specific provisions impacting cooling technologies, utility service contracts, and economic development tools.

South Korea's Ministry of Data and Statistics will include OTT service costs in its revamped consumer price index starting January 2024 to accurately reflect current spending patterns. This change is part of broader efforts to formalize new item weights in the index and enact a 'Basic Act on National Data' within the year to improve national data management.

The Paris Judicial Court ruled against Spliiit, a subscription-sharing platform, for facilitating unauthorized resale of access to streaming services like Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix. The court found Spliiit breached contractual terms by connecting subscribers with third parties for commercial exploitation of subscriptions. This ruling supports the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment's efforts to protect content and reduce unauthorized streaming access.

Illegal TV streaming in Germany caused €2.4bn in total economic losses in 2025, a 33% increase from 2022. This includes €1.5bn in direct losses for media companies and €542m in lost tax revenue, with an estimated 7.7 million users illegally accessing linear TV streams. Vaunet is calling for clearer takedown obligations, more effective blocking measures, and legal accountability to combat this issue.

Pearl TV has integrated Advanced HDR by Technicolor into its NextGen TV logo certification program for ATSC 3.0 converter boxes. This integration ensures that certified devices correctly handle high dynamic range content, providing a consistent viewing experience for consumers transitioning to the new broadcast standard. The initiative aims to help identify devices that support the ATSC 3.0 standard.

The American Television Alliance (ATVA) has responded to Scripps Local Media's blackout of 54 local broadcast stations on DIRECTV, affecting 36 markets, following a failure to reach a new retransmission agreement. The ATVA criticizes Scripps for demanding high retransmission consent fees and states the blackout impacts viewers' access to local news and major sporting events. ATVA plans to work with Congress to modernize regulations surrounding retransmission consent.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been invited to testify before Congress regarding the league's broadcast deals. This congressional scrutiny focuses on the NFL's increasing use of paywalled streaming services for airing games.

This article discusses the regulatory landscape for Artificial Intelligence, specifically noting that UK companies deploying AI systems targeted at the EU will fall under the scope of the EU AI Act. It serves as an introduction to the regulation of AI.

The European Union is proposing a Cloud and AI Development Act, which aims to accelerate data center construction and expand domestic capabilities over the next decade. This initiative is designed to address the perceived 'black box' nature of the EU's current data center boom.

This article details the minimum theatrical window requirements for FFA-supported films in Germany. As of August 1, 2022, these films must maintain a 4-month exclusive theatrical release before becoming available on DVD/Blu-ray and VOD platforms, with longer windows possible for certain films.

The article discusses the industry's reaction to a TRAI consultation regarding the FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) ecosystem in India, with particular focus on the response from news broadcasters.

China's Cyberspace Administration and four other departments have jointly issued new "Regulations on the Administration of Multi-channel Distributed Content Publishing Services" to prohibit certain online live streaming publishing activities. This regulation will impact how online content, including live streaming, is presented to the public.

This article from the Open Web Advocacy group highlights the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) in the UK. The DMCCA was passed with cross-party support and aims to address the control that a few tech giants have over the UK's digital economy. The post implies it is a necessary step to foster competition.

Brazil's antitrust chief signals tougher scrutiny on Big Tech's market power, specifically mentioning Bill 4,675 of 2025. This bill is poised to grant new powers to CADE (the Brazilian antitrust agency) and is undergoing an expedited legislative process.

The article from the European Tech Alliance discusses the Digital Markets Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/1925), criticizing its current implementation for entrenching gatekeepers within the digital market. It states two operators account for over 80% of the market.

This article discusses the responsibilities of video-sharing platforms and their users, as recognized by the AVMSD (Audiovisual Media Services Directive). It posits that active users of these platforms are now considered regulatory actors with responsibilities for their own behavior and for protecting others.

This article from LobbyFacts lists Netflix International B.V.'s lobbying activities related to European regulations. Specifically, it mentions the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the Digital Networks Act (DNA). The entry highlights Netflix's engagement with the Cabinet of an Executive Vice-President regarding these regulatory frameworks.

TRAI has mandated new rules for all telecom operators in India, requiring a minimum of 25 Mbps data speeds and enhanced voice quality. These new regulations are set to become effective on January 20, 2026. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are among the operators affected.

Chinese smartphone brand Honor has joined the Avanci 4G and 5G vehicle programs as a licensor. Additionally, the UPC Court of Appeal has made a ruling, though the details are not provided in this excerpt.

This article discusses technologies for digital defense against deepfake deception, including C2PA metadata and Google's SynthID. C2PA provides a digital passport for media, while SynthID embeds invisible statistical noise into pixels to maintain integrity through edits. These technologies aim to authenticate media content and detect AI-generated alterations.

Divine has integrated C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) to enable content provenance and authenticity verification within its systems. This integration aims to provide users with tools to verify the origin and integrity of content.

Multiple companies are actively establishing patent claims around the AV1 codec, indicating potential for future lawsuits. This patent assertion process is also commencing for the next-generation codec, AV2.

Via Licensing Alliance announced the expansion of its Voice Codec patent pool with an unnamed new licensee and new licensors, NovaVoice Limited and Cordial IP. The alliance also published a comprehensive rate structure for its Voice Codec pool, which includes patents for Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) and Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS). This move aims to increase transparency and adoption of these voice technologies critical for 5G, 5G-Advanced, and future applications.

Nigeria has set June 17, 2024, as the new long-delayed deadline for its digital television switch-over. This transition will require consumers to acquire open-standard DVB-S2 decoders, which are reportedly available in the local market for ₦15,000 to ₦25,000.

This article announces the 2026 ATSC Meetings and NextGen Broadcast Conference, to be held at NAB Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The conference will take place on June 2-3, with the first day open to editorial media and the second closed. Technology Group 3 will also meet on June 1.

YouTube is introducing a new tool in Creator Studio that requires creators to disclose to viewers when realistic content, including generative AI, is made with altered or synthetic media. This policy aims to increase transparency with viewers regarding content that could be mistaken for real people, places, scenes, or events. Labels will roll out across YouTube surfaces, and future enforcement measures are planned for creators who consistently fail to disclose.

SMPTE is hosting an in-person workshop organized by CBC on October 21, 2025, focusing on CBC's e250 and Memory eXchange Layer (MXL) projects. The session will include presentations by François Legrand and Mathieu Rochon from CBC/Radio-Canada, covering the EBU DMF reference architecture, MXL project, and the e250 project, along with a practical MXL hands-on workshop.

A Spanish court declined to fine NordVPN after LaLiga requested coercive fines for the VPN provider's alleged failure to fully implement a piracy blocking order. NordVPN successfully argued that dynamic IP addresses made blocking difficult and broad IP-level blocking would cause overblocking of legitimate sites. The original injunction requiring blocking remains in place, and the underlying case is ongoing, while broader opposition to indiscriminate IP blocking in Spain mounts.

The MPEG 154 meeting, held in Santa Eularia from April 27 to May 1, 2026, published output documents across various MPEG standards, including updates to MPEG-I for Versatile Video Coding (VVC) and volumetric video carriage, MPEG-DASH for media presentation description, and MPEG-4 for the ISO base Media File Format. The meeting also addressed explorations into enhanced compression beyond VVC, Gaussian splat coding, and AI-related media standards like video coding for machines and media authenticity.

DTVKit details its DVB-I client software implementations, designed to modernize TV distribution by combining internet-delivered and traditional broadcast channels using an open, standards-based approach. The organization offers an Android DVB-I Reference Client and a lightweight DVB-I for DVB-NIP implementation, with plans for a universal client supporting Android, RDK, and Linux platforms. These solutions enable device manufacturers to integrate DVB-I functionality, offering features like unified broadcast/broadband experiences, enhanced navigation, and support for linear, on-demand, and interactive content.

France is implementing a significant overhaul of its media chronology on February 10, following a new three-year accord signed by the Ministry of Culture. This agreement reduces the theatrical release window for streaming platforms to 15-17 months, down from 36 months, with the exact window depending on investment in local content. Netflix secured a 15-month window due to a reported €190m annual investment in French content, while Canal+ will now wait only six months before showing premium film content.

The BDI (Federation of German Industries) expresses strong criticism of the proposed EU Digital Networks Act (DNA), stating it fails to meet its goals of simplification and harmonization. The organization argues that the DNA, instead of fostering competitiveness and investment, introduces additional complexity, new obligations, and increased reporting requirements for telecommunications companies, despite prior goals of reducing such burdens. They advocate for a more ambitious simplification agenda to align rules and unlock investment.