Latest news with #CommunicationsAct
Free Malaysia Today
19-05-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Pamela Ling's children, family friend not linked to ‘body found' report, say cops
Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said a report about a body found, which spread on social media, is false. PETALING JAYA : Police have denied the involvement of Pamela Ling's children and a family friend in the alleged discovery of a body at a house here. Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said no report on the discovery of a body had been lodged, as alleged in an article by a news portal. 'Police can confirm that a report which has spread on social media, titled 'Police interview Pamela Ling's children and family friend in death investigation', is false,' he said in a statement today. Hussein said that sharing false news is an offence under Section 233(1)(A) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. 'The use of network facilities for sharing false news is an offence punishable with a fine of up to RM50,000, imprisonment of up to a year, or both, and an additional RM1,000 fine for every day the offence continues after conviction. 'Selangor police advise the public to only refer to official sources of information,' he said. According to the New Straits Times, a screenshot of the now-deleted article on the social media accounts of the local news portal had reportedly gone viral. The article reportedly said Ling's body was found in a house in Petaling Jaya on May 13 and police had recorded statements from her three children to assist investigations into her death. Ling was reported missing on April 9 while on her way to MACC's headquarters in Putrajaya to give a statement related to an ongoing investigation. MACC opened an investigation into her and her husband, Thomas Hah, in May last year for alleged corruption and money laundering offences.
Epoch Times
17-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
FCC Green-Lights Verizon's Acquisition Deal Following DEI Shutdown
The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau approved Verizon's $20 billion acquisition of Frontier on Friday, the FCC said in a May 16 'Verizon has also committed to ending DEI-related practices as specified in the FCC's record and has reaffirmed the merged entity's commitment to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination,' the agency said. 'This will ensure that the combined business will enact policies and practices consistent with the law and the public interest.' The FCC approval comes a day after Verizon 'Verizon recognizes that some DEI policies and practices could be associated with discrimination,' Vandana Venkatesh, the company's chief legal officer, said in the May 15 letter. The changes were being made 'not just in name or in the way they are described, but in substance.' The company shall no longer take into account identity-based goals when considering hiring, promotions, and bonuses for executives. Verizon said it updated supplier and sponsorship policies to remove gender- and race-based criteria. Related Stories 5/16/2025 3/29/2025 In a May 16 Back in February, Carr had suggested Verizon's DEI efforts could influence the agency's decision on the Verizon-Frontier deal. With the transaction now approved, Verizon can upgrade and expand Frontier's existing network spread across 25 states. Verizon is expecting to deploy fiber connections to 1 million or more homes every year, said the FCC statement. 'By approving this deal, the FCC ensures that Americans will benefit from a series of good and commonsense wins. The transaction will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country—including rural America,' Carr said. 'This investment will accelerate the transition away from old, copper line networks to modern, high-speed ones. And it delivers for America's tower and telecom crews who do the hard, often gritty work needed to build high-speed networks.' Frontier is the Carr Targeting DEI President Donald Trump had 'The FCC's most recent budget request said that promoting DEI was the agency's second-highest strategic goal,' Carr said in an X post later that day. 'Starting next year, the FCC will end its promotion of DEI.' The post included a screenshot of the FCC's 'Strategic Goal 2' at the time, according to which 'advancing equity is core to the agency's management and policymaking processes and will benefit all Americans.' After Trump 'In the very first section of the Communications Act, Congress stated that it created the FCC for the purpose of regulating interstate and foreign commerce in communication 'without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex,'' he said. 'Promoting invidious forms of discrimination runs contrary to the Communications Act and deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law.' Carr said he was eliminating DEI from the FCC's strategic plan and budget, ending the agency's DEI advisory group and equity action plan, and getting rid of DEI analysis from FCC economic reports, among other things. In a March 27 letter, Carr
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to make all porn illegal introduced by Republican senator
A bill to make all pornography illegal has been introduced by a Republican senator. Mike Lee, of Utah, and Illinois representative Mary Miller say the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA), will update 'the legal definition of obscenity for the internet age' if passed. Under current laws, as per the 1934 Communications Act, obscenity is defined as something that 'depicts, describes or represents actual or simulated sexual acts with the objective intent to arouse, titillate, or gratify the sexual desires of a person', appeals to sexual interest and 'lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value'. The new bill proposes the 'intent' clause of the act be removed, meaning anyone who shares sexual content online could be prosecuted, even if they do not intend to distribute it. It would mean pornography websites would technically become illegal. 'Obscenity isn't protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children,' Mr Lee said, according to The Independent. The new bill will mean pornographic 'content can be taken down and its pedlars prosecuted,' Ms Miller said. It is her and Mr Lee's mission to 'safeguard American families and ensure this dangerous material is kept out of our homes and off our screens,' she added. It is Mr Miller's third attempt to push through such legislation. If passed, the bill will stop people profiting off the 'degradation' of others, the Republican said. The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, which some see as a blueprint for Donald Trump's policies, describes those who share and create pornographic content as 'child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women' who sell a product 'as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime'. Mr Trump has distanced himself from the project, saying he knows nothing about it. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘60 Minutes' probe is ‘penalty,' not ‘threat,' per FCC chair
Brendan Carr, the top communications regulator, doesn't view his investigation into CBS as 'a threat' to the broadcaster. Sitting down with CNBC host Sara Eisen at the Milken Institute's Global Conference in Los Angeles on Monday, Carr called the federal inquiry into '60 Minutes' over its October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris a 'penalty that's in the Communications Act.' The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether the program engaged in so-called 'news distortion.' Carr stressed that trust in the media is at an all-time low, laying the blame not on local TV stations, whose licenses are set by the FCC, but, rather, at the feet of larger broadcasters. 'What we've seen is you've got national news media — ABC, NBC, CBS — and they're exercising more and more control over those local TV stations,' Carr said. 'I don't think that's a good thing for the country, so we're trying to reverse that.' Carr's clarification that the threats are actually so-called penalties under the Communications Act follows months of posturing and attacks against legacy media from the White House and the FCC. Those attacks have been spearheaded, in large part, by President Donald Trump. Even before his reelection, Trump repeatedly pushed to revoke CBS' license. And the president is currently looking to muscle through a settlement in his lawsuit with the broadcaster. Since 2022, Trump has called for every major US TV news network to be punished. CBS is not the only national broadcaster accused of news distortion. In April, Carr took to X to accuse NBC of 'misleading the American public' by allegedly styling Kilmar Armando Abrego as a regular 'Maryland man.' 'Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest,' Carr said in his post. 'News distortion doesn't cut it.' When pressed on the NBC allegations on Monday, Carr claimed that local stations have told him they want 'more freedom to cover the issues that matter in their local communities,' and that the so-called penalties aim to provide local stations with such liberties. 'But, the relationships that they have with the national programmers (have) been really constrained, so that's an issue that we're looking at,' Carr said. Despite accusing the larger broadcasters of 'controlling so much of what goes on over the airwaves,' the FCC chair did not explain how pulling licenses would benefit local stations. Under affiliate agreements, local TV stations are permitted to carry a network's programming. While national networks are not licensed, the FCC grants local stations eight-year licenses. It's been decades since the FCC pulled a license — and 'that's part of the issue,' Carr claimed. The complaint against CBS, filed by a pro-Trump group that alleged news distortion, was initially tossed out alongside separate complaints against NBC, CBS and Fox News by then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel in January before her resignation. Under a week later, Carr reinstated all of the complaints, save the one against Fox News, in less than two days after Trump returned to the Oval Office Meanwhile, the FCC is also investigating CBS parent Paramount's pending merger with Skydance Media. Carr emphasized on Monday that the license investigation and the president's lawsuit into '60 Minutes' are separate from the merger probe — comments that reflect Carr's recent attitude toward the deal and mark a departure from his previous stance.
CNN
05-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
FCC commissioner calls CBS investigation ‘penalty'
Brendan Carr, the top communications regulator, doesn't view his investigation into CBS as 'a threat' to the broadcaster. Sitting down with CNBC host Sara Eisen at the Milken Institute's Global Conference in Los Angeles on Monday, Carr called the federal inquiry into '60 Minutes' over its October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris a 'penalty that's in the Communications Act.' The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether the program engaged in so-called 'news distortion.' Carr stressed that trust in the media is at an all-time low, laying the blame not on local TV stations, whose licenses are set by the FCC, but, rather, at the feet of larger broadcasters. 'What we've seen is you've got national news media — ABC, NBC, CBS — and they're exercising more and more control over those local TV stations,' Carr said. 'I don't think that's a good thing for the country, so we're trying to reverse that.' Carr's clarification that the threats are actually so-called penalties under the Communications Act follows months of posturing and attacks against legacy media from the White House and the FCC. Those attacks have been spearheaded, in large part, by President Donald Trump. Even before his reelection, Trump repeatedly pushed to revoke CBS' license. And the president is currently looking to muscle through a settlement in his lawsuit with the broadcaster. Since 2022, Trump has called for every major US TV news network to be punished. CBS is not the only national broadcaster accused of news distortion. In April, Carr took to X to accuse NBC of 'misleading the American public' by allegedly styling Kilmar Armando Abrego as a regular 'Maryland man.' 'Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest,' Carr said in his post. 'News distortion doesn't cut it.' When pressed on the NBC allegations on Monday, Carr claimed that local stations have told him they want 'more freedom to cover the issues that matter in their local communities,' and that the so-called penalties aim to provide local stations with such liberties. 'But, the relationships that they have with the national programmers (have) been really constrained, so that's an issue that we're looking at,' Carr said. Despite accusing the larger broadcasters of 'controlling so much of what goes on over the airwaves,' the FCC chair did not explain how pulling licenses would benefit local stations. Under affiliate agreements, local TV stations are permitted to carry a network's programming. While national networks are not licensed, the FCC grants local stations eight-year licenses. It's been decades since the FCC pulled a license — and 'that's part of the issue,' Carr claimed. The complaint against CBS, filed by a pro-Trump group that alleged news distortion, was initially tossed out alongside complaints against NBC, CBS and Fox News by then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel in January before her resignation. Under a week later, Carr reinstated all of the complaints, save the one against Fox News, in less than two days after Trump returned to the Oval Office Meanwhile, the FCC is also investigating CBS parent Paramount's pending merger with Skydance Media. Carr emphasized on Monday that the license investigation and the president's lawsuit into '60 Minutes' are separate from the merger probe — comments that reflect Carr's recent attitude toward the deal and mark a departure from his previous stance.
