By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --At the request of co-creator Tina Fey, four episodes of the comedy "30 Rock" are being removed from circulation because they featured characters performing in blackface.
The series aired on NBC from 2006 to 2013, but episodes are still being shown in television syndication and on streaming services including Hulu, Amazon Prime, iTunes and Peacock.
Fey, who also starred as Liz Lemon in the series about the backstage world of a television show, said in a note to distributors that "I understand now that 'intent' is not a free pass for white people to use these images."
"I apologize for the pain they have caused," Fey wrote. "Going forward, no comedy-loving kid really needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness."
The elimination of the "30 Rock" episodes is the latest example of how the societal reckoning triggered by protests against police treatment of Black people has hit the entertainment world. They include the cancellation of the long-running TV show "Cops" and temporary removal of "Gone With the Wind" from the HBO Max service.
Two of the four eliminated "30 Rock" episodes originally aired in 2010, with the others first shown in 2008 and 2010. They include the East Coast version of an episode first shown live. Series regular Jane Krakowski and guest star Jon Hamm appeared in blackface.
The 2012 episode with Hamm also included "Tonight" show host Jimmy Fallon as a guest. Fallon, who did not appear in such makeup on "30 Rock," apologized last month after online circulation of an earlier "Saturday Night Live" skit where he wore blackface to impersonate Chris Rock.
South Korea fines Meta $15 million for illegally collecting information on Facebook users
South Korea's privacy watchdog on Tuesday fined social media company Meta 21.6 billion won ($15 million) for illegally collecting sensitive personal information from Facebook users, including data about their political views and sexual orientation, and sharing it with thousands of advertisers.
It was the latest in a series of penalties against Meta by South Korean authorities in recent years as they increase their scrutiny of how the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, handles private information.
Following a four-year investigation, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission concluded that Meta unlawfully collected sensitive information about around 980,000 Facebook users, including their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex unions, from July 2018 to March 2022.
It said the company shared the data with around 4,000 advertisers.
South Korea's privacy law provides strict protection for information related to personal beliefs, political views and sexual behavior, and bars companies from processing or using such data without the specific consent of the person involved.
The commission said Meta amassed sensitive information by analyzing the pages the Facebook users liked or the advertisements they clicked on.
The company categorized ads to identify users interested in themes such as specific religions, same-sex and transgender issues, and issues related to North Korean escapees, said Lee Eun Jung, a director at the commission who led the investigation on Meta.
"While Meta collected this sensitive information and used it for individualized services, they made only vague mentions of this use in their data policy and did not obtain specific consent," Lee said.
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