FCC

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 or autodialed calls to mobile phones are prohibited, except in cases of emergencies, federal debt collection, or with the prior express consent of the recipient.  The Advisory then summarized the requirements for prerecorded or autodialed calls to landline phones, including identification and line seizure requirements. 
Continue Reading FCC Releases TCPA Enforcement Advisory Directed to Political Campaigns

According to a recent analysis by the Congressional Research Service (“CRS”), the extent of state law preemption in recent federal legislative proposals relating to data security is unclear.  Several bills introduced in the 114th Congress would impose federal data security or breach notification requirements on covered entities, similar to existing requirements in nearly every state.

The CRS report notes that all of the current bills on this topic include express preemption clauses, but the scope of that preemption will ultimately be a matter of interpretation, particularly in bills that include saving clauses that preserve certain aspects of state law.  For instance, the language of the proposed bills may lead to differing interpretations of both the type (e.g., statutes, regulations, or common law) and the subject matter of the state and local actions that are being preempted.  In addition, the report explains that express preemption clauses do not foreclose other types of implied preemption, such as conflict or impossibility preemption.Continue Reading Scope of Preemption in Proposed Data Security Legislation is Uncertain

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

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

In one of the first decisions evaluating Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claims under the FCC’s recent omnibus TCPA order, the Northern District of California dismissed a putative class action lawsuit alleging that AOL violated the TCPA when users of its Instant Messenger service (AIM) sent text messages to incorrect recipients.  After the court dismissed

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the text of its long-awaited order addressing certain aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and related FCC rules.  The order addressed a total of 21 petitions seeking “clarification or other actions” regarding the TCPA, principally in connection with automated calls and text messages.

Although the order purports only to “clarify” existing FCC precedent, there is widespread debate over whether the order imposed new requirements on entities that transmit automated calls and text messages.  The order already has been appealed by one party and other appeals are expected.  Nevertheless, because the FCC claims the order only clarifies existing precedent, its provisions became effective when the order was released on July 10, 2015.

The order focuses on ten key areas, which are summarized after the jump.
Continue Reading Ten Key Takeaways From Last Week’s TCPA Order

In a consent decree adopted yesterday by the Federal Communications Commission, two telecommunications carriers — TerraCom, Inc., and YourTel America, Inc. — agreed to pay a $3.5 million civil penalty and adhere to a three-year compliance program to settle allegations that the carriers violated the federal Communications Act by failing to adequately protect “proprietary information” the carriers collected from consumers applying for federally subsidized phone service under the Lifeline program.  The consent decree reiterates the FCC’s interpretation of Sections 201 and 222 of the federal Communications Act — first articulated in a October 2014 decision proposing to fine TerraCom and YourTel $10 million — broadening telecommunications carriers’ privacy and data security obligations.  The consent decree also settles allegations that YourTel failed to de-enroll certain subscribers after being instructed to do so by the Universal Service Administrative Company, which administers Lifeline.
Continue Reading Carriers Agree to $3.5 Million FCC Fine For Alleged Privacy Violations

In an order adopted at Thursday’s Open Meeting, the Federal Communications Commission acted on 23 petitions or other requests for clarification regarding the application of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a federal law that restricts telemarketing  and certain other types of calls.  The FCC has issued a news release describing yesterday’s order as an effort to “clos[e] loopholes and strengthen[] consumer protections already on the books.”  The text of the order is expected to be released in the coming days.
Continue Reading FCC Ruling Tightens TCPA Restrictions; Dissenters Warn of Increased Class-Action Abuse

A federal judge in the Northern District of California recently certified his denial of AT&T’s Motion to Dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) complaint alleging that AT&T misled consumers by limiting its “unlimited” data plan for mobile customers. This means that AT&T will now be able to appeal that decision to the Ninth Circuit.
Continue Reading FTC’s Throttling Case Against AT&T to be Heard by Ninth Circuit