Late this afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of the Fourth Circuit’s decision setting aside the FCC Media Bureau’s guidance on entitlement to the lowest unit charge (“LUC”) for certain political ads placed on broadcast TV and radio. See our prior post about this issue here. Notably, the 60-day political window for
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Fourth Circuit Sets Aside FCC Media Bureau Guidance on Lowest Unit Charge; FCC Asks the Supreme Court to Step In
On August 25, 2026, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit set aside guidance by the FCC’s Media Bureau stating that two types of political advertising were entitled to the favorable “lowest unit charge” (“LUC”) rate: ads paid for as “party coordinated expenditures,” meaning ads paid for by a…
FCC Seeks Public Comment on Improving Spectrum Access for Commercial Space Launch and Reentry Operations
Earlier this week, on August 25, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a Public Notice seeking public comment on how the agency might increase and improve spectrum access for commercial space launch and reentry activities. The Public Notice follows through on a directive in the Trump Administration’s National Space Transportation Policy memorandum issued last…
FCC Narrows Covered List Definition of “Power Inverters” and Clarifies Meaning of “Foreign-Produced”
Yesterday, following a second National Security Determination from the Department of War (“DoW”), the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) clarified the scope of its ban on foreign-produced “power inverters,” a category of devices added to the FCC’s “Covered List” in late July. This new determination revises and narrows the definition of power inverters to more…
French Constitutional Council Strikes Down Under-15 Social Media Ban
On August 14, 2026, the French Constitutional Council (the “Constitutional Council”) struck down Article 1 of France’s Act to protect minors from the risks posed by the use of social media (the “Act”), which would have barred minors under the age of fifteen from accessing online social media services. The Constitutional Council held that the…
French CNIL Publishes Note on Agentic AI and Data Protection
On July 20, 2026, the French data protection authority (the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, “CNIL”) published a joint exploratory note with the French AI and Digital Council (“CIANum”) on the data protection implications of agentic AI (the “Note”). The Note is exploratory rather than prescriptive: it does not purport to state definitive…
FCC Restricts Imports of New Foreign-Produced Power Inverters and Advanced Robotic Devices with Additions to its Covered List
On July 28, 2026, the FCC added foreign-produced power inverters and advanced robotic devices to its Covered List, following determinations by an executive branch interagency body that they pose “unacceptable risks” to the national security of the United States. The new additions continue a string of decisions placing entire categories of foreign-produced devices on…
FCC Approves Massive Modernization of Satellite Licensing Regime
On July 22, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) voted to approve a Report and Order (the “Order”) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “FNPRM”) that will rework and modernize the FCC’s satellite licensing regime. Stating that “[a]chieving American space superiority is critical to our nation’s future,” the Order streamlines the FCC’s satellite…
FCC Simplifies Broadband Consumer Label Requirements
On July 22, the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) approved a Report and Order (the “Order”) to simplify the requirements for the broadband consumer label (the “Label”) that all ISPs have been required to provider to consumers since 2024. The Order is meant to “refocus the rules on ensuring that consumers have the clear, accurate,…
UK online safety update: Ofcom’s Category 1 proposals and DSIT’s latest response to “Growing Up in an Online World”
By Jadzia Pierce & Jane Pinho
On 10 July 2026, Ofcom published a package of draft materials as part of the third phase of its implementation of the Online Safety Act (the “Act”). While the Act already imposes baseline duties to tackle illegal content and to protect children (where a service is likely to be accessed by them) on all regulated…