By Melanie Ramey Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Public Notice seeking comment on a range of issues relevant to its interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), including how the FCC should interpret what constitutes an “automatic telephone dialing system” in the wake of a recent decision by the U.S. Court … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday issued a long-awaited ruling in a lawsuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s interpretations of key terms under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”), holding that the FCC in 2015 had adopted an unreasonably broad definition of the type of calling equipment subject … Continue Reading
On February 28, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a report discussing security updates for mobile devices. The report stems from information the FTC collected from eight mobile device manufacturers — Apple, Blackberry, Google, HTC, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, and Samsung — and from information the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) collected from mobile carriers in … Continue Reading
In a ruling with implications for both net neutrality and privacy, the Ninth Circuit ruled en banc today that the common carrier exemption in Section 5 of the FTC Act is activity-based, reversing a 2016 panel ruling that the exemption was status-based. Today’s decision bolsters the FTC’s authority to bring consumer protection (including privacy) and … Continue Reading
A recent District of New Jersey case emphasizes that while, under the FCC’s 2015 interpretation of the law, a customer has a broad right to revoke consent to receive automated calls and texts under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), the manner in which the consumer seeks to revoke his or her consent must be … Continue Reading
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced today that at its December 14 open meeting, the FCC will vote on an overhaul of the net neutrality framework adopted by the prior Administration in 2015. The full text of the draft order will be released tomorrow, but Chairman Pai has made certain key details known today. The order … Continue Reading
Last week, the FCC issued a forfeiture order against Dialing Services, LLC (“Dialing Services”) $2,880,000, finding that Dialing Services made automated calls to wireless phones without prior express consent, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Dialing Services is a platform that offers automated calling services to its customers, and this Order is … Continue Reading
The FCC has released the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on “Restoring Internet Freedom” that was adopted by a 2-1 vote at the Commission’s open meeting on May 18. The NPRM is substantively very similar to the draft released by Chairman Pai on April 27, and the comment deadlines remain the same: July 17 for … Continue Reading
Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has introduced a bill, the “Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly Act of 2017” (“BROWSER Act,” H.R. 2520) that would create new online privacy requirements. The BROWSER Act would require both ISPs and edge providers (essentially any service provided over the Internet) to provide users with notice of … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit announced today that the full court will rehear the case in which the three-judge panel opinion had dismissed the FTC’s lawsuit against AT&T for allegedly violating Section 5 of the FTC Act due to past “throttling” practices around unlimited data plans. According to the panel opinion, the FTC lacked jurisdiction over AT&T’s … Continue Reading
In a widely anticipated step, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has released a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on the legal framework that governs broadband providers and related net neutrality questions. Most notably from a privacy perspective, the draft NPRM proposes to find that broadband Internet access service is an “information service” under the Communications … Continue Reading
On April 24th, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (“EPIC”) and a coalition of 37 other civil society groups sent a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to act on an August 2015 petition to repeal the FCC’s data retention mandate under 47 C.F.R. §42.6 (“Retention of Telephone Toll Records”). The mandate requires communications carriers … Continue Reading
The House voted today to adopt a joint resolution to repeal the FCC’s broadband privacy rules, following the Senate’s vote to adopt the same resolution last week. President Trump is expected to sign the resolution into law, which overrules the FCC rules that were set to go into effect later this year. The mechanism for … Continue Reading
Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced a pair of bills today relating to the cybersecurity of cars and aircraft, which would impose affirmative security, disclosure, and consent requirements on manufacturers and air carriers. The Security and Privacy in Your Car (“SPY Car”) Act and Cybersecurity Standards for Aircraft to Improve Resilience (“Cyber … Continue Reading
On March 2nd, Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced three pieces of legislation that would expand the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) authority over the cybersecurity practices of communications network providers. The first bill, the “Securing IoT Act of 2017” (introduced by Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA)), would expand the FCC’s certification authority … Continue Reading
On November 3, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California held that federal law does not bar the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from requiring telecommunications companies to hand over, under an adequate protective order, confidential subscriber data to The Utility Reform Network (TURN) as part of an … Continue Reading
A variety of advocacy groups and industry stakeholders filed comments yesterday in response to a petition by non-profit Public Knowledge to halt operation of the Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) service. The nascent DSRC service, which operates in the 5.9 GHz band, enables vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications to protect the safety of drivers and passengers and … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Senate Commerce Committee passed a bill meant to increase government involvement in the development of the “Internet of Things” (IoT). By a voice vote, the committee approved the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act, sponsored by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and … Continue Reading
Last Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released its much-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) setting forth and seeking comment on proposed rules to govern the privacy practices of broadband internet access service providers (BIAS providers). Among other things, the NPRM outlines the FCC’s proposed rules for broadband privacy policies, the level of customer approval … Continue Reading
At its open meeting today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to proceed with a proposed rulemaking to regulate the privacy practices of broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The 3-2 vote was divided along party lines. Democratic Chairman Tom Wheeler, and Democratic Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn voted in favor of the proposal. Republican … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the FCC released an Enforcement Advisory to remind political campaigns about their obligations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The Advisory did not set forth any new rules for calls and texts; rather, it confirmed existing rules and reminded political campaigns that they are subject to them. The Advisory first confirmed that prerecorded … Continue Reading
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a fact sheet summarizing rules Chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing to regulate the privacy practices of broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Chairman Wheeler also will be circulating today to other FCC commissioners a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which fully sets forth the proposed rules. That NPRM … Continue Reading
Last Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) rejected a petition from consumer advocates asking the FCC to extend its Open Internet Order by requiring edge providers such as Facebook and Amazon to follow the privacy regulations of Section 222 and to require those edge providers to honor “Do Not Track” requests from consumers. The FCC … Continue Reading
By Hannah Lepow Yesterday the FCC announced that it has entered into a $595,000 settlement agreement with Cox Communications to resolve an investigation into whether the company failed to protect its customers’ personal information when it suffered a data breach in 2014. This is the first privacy and data security enforcement action the FCC Enforcement … Continue Reading
