Two legal changes to be aware of.
First, effective December 20th, the Television Viewer Protection Act bans ISPs and TV providers from charging rental fees for equipment customers own themselves, including modems and cable boxes. This was delayed from am implementation on June 20th, in response to the pandemic.
Second, the COVID-19 relief bill passed Monday includes provisions to create a small-claims board for copyright issues under US law, and more severe criminal violations for streamers who broadcast copyright-protected works. Thom Tillis, Republican from North Carolina, introduced this “Protecting Lawful Streaming Act”, which has broad and vague wording which may impact Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming.
Someone tell me what the streaming copyright controls have to do with COVID-19 relief. You go, Thom Tillis… way to focus on priorities.
The first law is an obvious win for consumers and for small businesses, and here’s your simple business idea of the week for infrastructure providers… check with your customers they aren’t being charged going forward for equipment they own. Simple win for everyone.
On the second, there is a lot of new marketing happening online, and we care because of the new provisions of copyright law that’s taking shape. It likely will be very hard to enforce this one, which is never a good sign.
Source: Engadget
Source: GeekWire