Radio Streaming Guide Apparent Casualty of California Law

An apparent casualty of California's imposition of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)is a guide to streaming radio sites, at least according to a message on the now-shuttered site.

StreamingRadioGuide.com was not able to provide any info on a Georgia radio station whose license the FCC has just revoked over nonpayment of regulatory fees. That was because it has shut down, leaving the following message parked at the url:

Welcome to the former StreamingRadioGuide.com

I have decided to cease operations rather than face the potential legal threats from the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which goes into effect at midnight on January 1st, 2020.

You can read about the law here

This web site had no advertising and no third party tracking for 14 years, with the expenses paid for by me. My web hosting service has incorporated compliance with CCPA and GDPR [Europe's General Data Protection Rules] into their terms of service, leaving few options. Google and Facebook have won, which is ironic since they are the real abusers of consumer privacy.

Thank you for allowing me to hand out free fish, but the era of an individual operating a free service has come and gone.

Fred Stiening
December 31, 2019

Radio World has called the site a rich resource that "comprehensively lists broadcast radio stations that stream on the internet."

The law went into effect Jan. 1. It established a consumer right of privacy based on disclosure and the right to opt out of data collection or third-party sharing, and to have their data deleted if they chose.

Related: Amazon Slams California Privacy Law

Opponents of the California law, adopted to fill what the state saw as a void in online privacy protections, have warned that web site shutdowns could result.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.