VidAngel Statement on Today’s Hearing vs. Disney
(Provo, UT—January 6, 2016) VidAngel, the market-leading entertainment platform empowering users to filter language, nudity, violence, and other content from movies and TV shows, is engaged in a high-profile legal battle with Disney, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm. These Hollywood studios have taken legal action in an effort to eviscerate the 2005 Family Movie Act and prevent VidAngel from lawfully empowering parents and families to filter content on modern devices.
Today, Judge Andre Birotte ruled against VidAngel in Los Angeles Federal Court. CEO Neal Harmon has issued the following statement:
“As our customers know, we have been shut down for some time, and we obviously disagree with Judge Birotte’s decision today and other decisions across all dimensions of this case. However, we respect the process and look forward to presenting our case to the 9th Circuit.
“Because we are confident that Congress intended for movie filtering to be legal without permission from Hollywood, we believe that ultimately we will be victorious, and remain prepared to go all the way to the Supreme Court.
“Movie filtering is supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans, and therefore we will also continue to keep in close touch with our many allies on Capitol Hill to seek a legislative update to make the Family Movie Act even clearer so that it can not be misconstrued by the Disney and its allies now or in the future.”
VidAngel also encourages its supporters to go this page started by a Florida family in support of services such as ours: SaveFiltering.com
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About VidAngel
VidAngel is the market-leading entertainment platform empowering users to filter language, nudity, violence, and other content from movies and TV shows. VidAngel's success has been well documented, earning a #1 BestCompany.com user rating and making VidAngel one of the fastest growing entertainment companies in the U.S.
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GLSEN Releases State Snapshots from Most Recent National School Climate Survey on U.S. Middle and High Schools
What: State-level data from the latest edition of GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey, the definitive study of the middle and high school experiences of LGBTQ youth across the country. The report includes information about LGBTQ students' experiences with hearing anti-LGBT remarks, verbal and physical harassment, discriminatory policies and practices and lack of access to in-school supports and resources.
Data is available for 30 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
When: Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Who: Experts from GLSEN’s staff, local chapter network and National Student Council are available for interviews.
About GLSEN
GLSEN champions safe and affirming schools for all students. We envision a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach tens of thousands of K-12 schools across the United States, and our network of chapters brings GLSEN’s expertise to their local communities. GLSEN's progress and impact have won support for our work at all levels of education in the United States and sparked an international movement to ensure equality for LGBTQ students and respect for all in schools. For more information on GLSEN’s policy advocacy, student leadership initiatives, public education, research and educator training programs, please visit glsen.org.
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MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TUESDAY: Experts, Reporters to Discuss the Intersection of Technology, Propaganda and Fake News and How to Preserve a Vibrant Civic Media
Institute for the Future initiates effort to strengthen democracy and civic media, convenes thought leaders and philanthropists to devise solutions to challenges created by new technology, propaganda; best ideas could get funding
Palo Alto, Calif., Jan. 9, 2017—Institute for the Future (IFTF) will hold a timely public discussion Tuesday with investigative reporters and Russia experts about the roles of technology and illicit money in the rise of right-wing populism around the globe. The public panel is part of a broader effort, including a two-day private convening of journalists, funders, tech, academic and policy experts, to generate solutions to preserve an open civic dialogue and strong media. IFTF will share those solutions with the media and the public, and the best ideas may secure funding to become programs from participating donors.
The public panel, How to Destroy Democracy, will include New York Times contributor Masha Gessen, author of "The Man Without a Face: the Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin” and Drew Sullivan, co-founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, on Tuesday from 1-2:30pm at IFTF’s headquarters in Palo Alto. Right-wing populist parties and autocratic leaders are gaining power in countries from France and Russia to Hungary and Poland—a trend that predates the recent U.S. elections. How did we get here? What role does new technology play? Where does the money come from? This panel will be an opportunity to get insight into recent political trends first-hand from journalists who risk their lives to answer these questions by shining a light on the multi-trillion-dollar criminal economy that fuels corruption around the globe.
These investigative journalists, along with experts from the realms of media, academia, policy, and technology, will be in the San Francisco Bay Area to participate in a private convening Jan. 11-12 hosted by IFTF in partnership with the Skoll Foundation and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. The convening, called The Future of Democracy: Preserving A Vibrant Civic Media, is private to enable a frank and fruitful discussion but will result in initiatives to preserve civic media and strengthen democracy that will be shared publicly. Donors attending the event will select among the best ideas generated for potential funding.
What: A public panel discussion with European investigative reporters and Russia experts to discuss the rise of right-wing populism around the world and the role of new technology, propaganda, and the criminal economy that fuels global corruption.
When: Tuesday, Jan. 10; 1-2:30pm
Where: 201 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Panelists:
Masha Gessen, New York Times contributor, author of The Man Without a Face: the Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin and Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot
Drew Sullivan, co-founder, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
Other investigative journalists from Russia and Eastern Europe
Journalists unable to attend but who would like to interview participants of the panel or convening may contact Erin Musgrave at erin@emcstrategies.com or (530) 864-7014, or Conan Knoll at conan@emcstrategies.com or (831) 524-6764.
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About Institute for the Future
Institute for the Future (IFTF) is an independent, nonprofit strategic research group with almost 50 years of forecasting experience. The core of our work is identifying emerging discontinuities that will transform global society and the global marketplace. We provide organizations with insights into business strategy, design process, innovation, and social dilemmas. Our research spans a broad territory of deeply transformative trends, from health and health care to technology, the workplace, and human identity. IFTF is based in Palo Alto, California. For more, visit iftf.org.
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