Intermediary Liability
CABLE OPERATORS AREN’T “common carriers.” That means they have to contend with liability.
In copyright land, strict liability means that if you participate in a copyright infringement, you are liable for it, even if you were acting in good faith and taking reasonable steps to stay on the right side of the law. Cable operators aren’t quite held to this standard, though their liability does come close. So if you’re a cable operator and one of your five hundred channels carries a live newscast that runs a copyrighted photo, not only can the photographer sue the broadcaster and the person holding the photo—they can also take a stab at suing you