On September 29, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice seeking comments on the Broadnet Teleservices, LLC (Broadnet) petition asking the FCC to declare that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not apply to calls made by or on behalf of federal, state, and local governments, when such calls are made for official purposes.
Currently, the … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a copy of a letter that it sent to PayPal stating that the agency was closing an investigation into potential Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) violations by the company. This release provides important insights on how companies can design their user agreements to avoid TSR violations.
As background, PayPal had indicated that it planned … Continue Reading
On September 11, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enforcement Bureau issued citations to F.N.B. Corporation (First National Bank or FNB) and Lyft, Inc. (Lyft), a ride-sharing service, for Telephone Consumer Protect Act (TCPA) violations pertaining to the marketing rules.
As background, the TCPA requires companies to obtain “prior express written consent” for all prerecorded or autodialed marketing calls or … Continue Reading
As many of our readers know, on July 10, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a highly anticipated decision regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and related FCC rules involving autodialed and prerecorded telephone calls and text messages. Although the order became effective upon release, in less than a week, three parties (ACA International, Professional Association for Customer Engagement, … Continue Reading
Today, FCC Chairman Wheeler announced that he is circulating a proposal to address more than twenty pending petitions seeking clarity regarding the scope requirements under the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). He authored a blog post on the proposal and also released a fact sheet.
As part of the Chairman’s proposal, the FCC would issue the following rulings:… Continue Reading
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) has requested public input on a recent report on Cybersecurity Risk Management and Best Practices (Report) by the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) for communications providers. The Report represents the latest example of the U.S. government’s continued attention to these issues following the President’s 2013 … Continue Reading
In its recent Open Internet Order (“Order”), the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) determined that broadband Internet access services are appropriately classified as common carrier “telecommunications services” under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In doing so, the agency established itself as the primary U.S. data privacy and security regulator for those services and triggered additional requirements under the Act. It … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (“CRTC’s”) Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer issued a Notice of Violation and $1.1 million penalty to Compu-Finder for four violations of the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”). Although Compu-Finder was apparently engaged in “flagrant” CASL violations, according to the Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer, the CRTC also confirmed that it is assessing … Continue Reading
With an ongoing rulemaking at the Federal Communications Commission, a pair of Congressional hearings, and President Obama’s recent remarks on the matter, U.S. policymakers have been actively debating net neutrality issues. However, the U.S. is not alone: The EU has taken significant steps towards a new net neutrality law, Brazil and Mexico passed legislation last year, and Chile’s regulatory … Continue Reading
Note: The post below has been updated to reflect extended comment and reply comment filing deadlines.
On December 19, 2014, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) proposing to give over-the-top (“OTT”) video programming providers certain legacy negotiating and carriage rights with respect to both cable programming (i.e. program access rights) and … Continue Reading
On October 28, 2014, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that he is proposing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to give over-the-top (“OTT”) video providers certain legacy negotiating and carriage rights with respect to cable programming (i.e. program access rights) and broadcast television programming (i.e. retransmission consent rights). Chairman Wheeler explained … Continue Reading
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture proposing a $10 million penalty against TerraCom, Inc. and YourTel America, Inc. for allegedly violating laws protecting consumers’ personal information. Specifically, the FCC alleged that the companies placed the personal data of up to 300,000 consumers at risk by storing Social Security numbers, names, addresses, … Continue Reading
On 30 October the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted relief to 24 petitioners regarding certain Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules applicable to fax advertisements. Specifically, the Order gives the petitioners a limited, retroactive waiver of the FCC’s opt-out notice requirements for fax advertisements that were sent with the “prior express invitation or permission” of the recipient but that did … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in which it reminded broadband Internet service providers that they are subject to several data privacy and security laws enforced by the FTC. The FTC’s comments underscore why broadband providers – as well as their vendors and business partners – must keep a close watch on … Continue Reading
This week the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) CONNECT2HEALTHFCC Task Force, a group formed in March 2014 that is focused on using broadband deployment to accelerate the adoption of advanced healthcare technologies, is joining more than 400 other public and private organizations in recognizing National Health IT Week (NHIT week). NHIT week is a series of events and activities aimed … Continue Reading
As part of the constitutional reform in telecommunications matters published on 11 June 2013 (the Constitutional Reform), the new Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law (the Law) was finally published on 14 July, and went into effect this past 13 August.
The new Law establishes a new regulatory framework in the telecommunications and broadcasting sector in Mexico, which contains the principles … Continue Reading
Businesses that use automated technologies to place telemarketing calls and messages have just over a month to assess and revise their current calling practices to avoid the risk of expensive, time-consuming lawsuits under new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules enacted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The TCPA (47 U.S.C. § 227) and the FCC’s TCPA rules (47 C.F.R. … Continue Reading
