Big Tech’s Litigation Era

**Kara Swisher** (0:00)
This is the time of litigation against tech companies coming forward. I've never seen so much activity in so many different areas. So, lawyers will always have a job, as always.

**Eriq Gardner** (0:12)
Hopefully, I'll have one too.

**Kara Swisher** (0:14)
Yeah, you will.
Hi, everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This is On with Kara Swisher and I'm Kara Swisher. Today, we're talking about all things tech, media, and legal with Eriq Gardner. He's the founding partner and national correspondent at Puck, who mostly writes about legal affairs, and I am surprisingly a legal walk, and I read him all the time. He's an expert on these issues, and he'll be our guide as we cover some of the biggest stories on his beat, starting with the latest on the proposed $111 billion Paramount-Warner Brothers merger. Back in February, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison won the bidding war to acquire Warner Brothers and it's been chaos ever since. The deal is currently on hold as Ellison faces an antitrust lawsuit brought by California and 11 other states plus a lawsuit from the Writers Guild of America. A trial date has been set for next March and the stakes are high. Among other things, Paramount could have to pay $650 million per quarter in so-called ticking fees if the deal isn't wrapped up by September 30th of this year. In the latest development that broke after we taped on Monday, Paramount has asked the 12 states and the Writers Guild to post a nearly $1.9 billion bond. That's money Paramount would collect if the states lose the case and the company wants it to cover the ticking fee. We also look at the politics behind WarnerMount and Larry and David Ellison's relationship with President Trump. Then we get into FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's ongoing battle with Disney. After we taped, Disney's ABC sued the FCC, alleging it has quote, waged a retaliatory campaign against the network and violated its First Amendment rights.
Earlier this year, the FCC launched a probe into the talk show The View. It later called for an early review of licenses for Disney's local ABC stations.
Finally, we'll wrap up with a discussion about AI copyright litigation and the landmark social media addiction rulings and a series of even bigger upcoming trials. This is a really interesting time. There's so many legal issues, but they all point to people wanting to sue tech. Obviously, the Ellison's are in tech, obviously, Open AI. All these companies are facing a lot more pushback on a lot of issues when before, they sailed through largely because Congress did not do its duty and create guardrail regulation that was adequate to control them. Now, you're seeing this through the courts. So, Eriq is a great person to talk to right now. Our expert question comes from Democratic FCC Commissioner Ana Gomez. Lots to get to today, but it's also fun. So, stick around, I promise, law is fun.
One more thing before we get into it, I'm going to be doing a live taping of On at the Odoo Experience Conference in San Francisco on September 2nd. You can register for the conference on their website. We'll drop the link in the description for this episode.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:23)
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**Eriq Gardner** (3:31)
Did you include the differentiation angle the CMO asked for?

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Already in there. Three angles no competitors using right now. Just need your approval.

**Eriq Gardner** (3:39)
Approved.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:40)
Thanks.

**Eriq Gardner** (3:41)
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Somewhere with a lot more tabs open.

**Eriq Gardner** (3:48)
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**SPEAKER_5** (3:57)
Our earliest childhood memories can feel so visceral.

**SPEAKER_6** (4:01)
I have this memory of my mother standing on the beach, you know, the wind whipping her hair and her jacket, calling into the wind with my siblings out in the lake and the damn, you know, looming in the distance. But none of these memories were true.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:19)
This week on Explain It to Me from Vox, why can't I remember being a baby?

**Ana Gomez** (4:28)
Hi, it's Kara Swisher.

**Kara Swisher** (4:30)
You know me as co-host of Pivot, but for August, I'm flying solo, and I've lined up some incredible guest hosts to join me. Mark Cuban, Chelsea Handler, Caitlin Collins, and a lot more you won't want to miss. Already out, my conversation with Hillary Clinton. Among many other things, we get into redistricting fights, reshaping state politics, and what Trump's golden makeover of the presidency actually means, and it's not good. Trust me, you don't want to skip this one. Find Pivot on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.