Good Sunday evening from a sunny Seattle . . . Our first Online Travel Update for 2026 is below. This week’s Update features new stories on China’s possible crack down on Trip.com, an update on Airbnb and its plans for hotels and the latest from Google and its rapidly evolving agentic platform. I hope you
Crystal Ball Time – What Are the Regulatory and Policy Issues Broadcasters Should Be Expecting to Deal With in 2026?
It’s the start of another year, so it is time to dust off the crystal ball and look at what we expect to be the big regulatory and legislative issues facing broadcasters in the new year. Looking back on our forecast for 2025 that came out just over a year ago, I was surprised to
The Next Thing Knocking at Real Estate’s Door: Quantum Computing
The world has not yet fully explored the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), and yet another major technological wave is already forming on the horizon: quantum computing. While the transition from acknowledged potential to established, practical application of new quantum technologies remains underway, stakeholders in the real estate industry may soon see growing demand for
The FTC Walks Back Its Rytr Enforcement Action, Signaling a Shift in Federal AI Regulation
In a rare course correction, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reopened and vacated its 2024 consent order against Rytr LLC, a generative AI-powered company. The unusual move reflects a significant strategic reset of how federal regulators will approach AI technology, especially when alleged harms are hypothetical rather than concrete.
In 2024, the FTC filed
The Next Phase of Travel Distribution Rekindles Pricing and Parity Debates
Happy Monday evening from Seattle . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, December 19, 2025, is below. This week’s Update features a heavy concentration of important legal updates on local Chinese efforts to investigate the practices of OTAs, the FTC’s newly announced investigation into Instacart and its alleged surveillance
Data License Restrictions in the AI Spotlight: Careful Drafting Is More Important Than Ever
A recently-filed federal court complaint tests the enforceability of restrictive terms in a data license against the use of licensed data for generative AI purposes. The outcome of this case may turn on interpreting broad terms such as training, internal research, distribution and publication.
UPDATE: On December 18, 2025, the court denied defendant Alexi Technologies
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: December 8, 2025 to December 12, 2025
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
- The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau entered into a Consent Decree with a public broadcaster to resolve an investigation into whether false
AI Turns Up the Heat: OTAs Defend Their Turf as Big Tech Redraws the Map
Good Sunday afternoon from Seattle . . . Our weekly Online Travel Update for the week ending Friday, December 12, 2025, is below. This week’s Update includes a number of updates to stories we featured previously, including stories on the existential threat (or not) to OTAs posed by new AI platforms and the Trump administration’s
AI Executive Order Impacting BEAD Non-Deployment Funding Signed
President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order (EO) that directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to potentially curtail non-deployment funding from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program for states that the administration determines have artificial intelligence (AI) laws that are overly burdensome. The EO requires FCC Chairman Brendan
Getting Ready for the 2026 Election – Steps Broadcasters Should Be Taking Now to Avoid Legal Issues with Political Broadcasting
The deadline for candidates in Texas to file for a place on the March 3 primary ballot was this week. Deadlines for filing to become a qualified candidate in other states will follow soon for other primaries that occur in March, and then throughout the first part of 2026. As a result, broadcast stations and