On October 1, 2019, a divided panel of the D.C. Circuit issued a lengthy per curiam decision that largely upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Restoring Internet Freedom order, issued by the agency in early...more
There was widespread sentiment six months ago that 2019 was the year when Congress would finally pass a comprehensive federal privacy law. There were several grounds for this view....more
Last week produced a spate of interesting and instructive privacy and data security enforcement activity. ...more
LitLand is a monthly feature that reviews developments in litigation as they relate to privacy matters and highlights any past, current, and future cases about which you should know....more
On May 7, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed new legislation that updates and expands the breach notification obligations of businesses that maintain the personal information of Washington citizens. The new provisions had...more
Senators Warner, D-Va., and Fischer, R-Neb., introduced the “Deceptive Experiences to Online Users Reduction,” or DETOUR Act, on April 9, 2019. The bill covers “large online operators” (those with more than 100 million...more
What a difference a year makes.
In early 2018, the biggest concern for the consumer-facing online ecosystem was probably the then-impending launch of the GDPR. Today, GDPR compliance seems like the least of our worries....more
On Friday, September 28, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the nation’s first Internet of Things (IoT) cybersecurity law. Although the new law presents some compliance issues, it does not appear to conflict with...more
On May 22, 2018, Vermont’s first-in-the-nation law imposing disclosure and data security obligations on data brokers (H.764) went into effect was enacted. Calls for legislation to regulate data brokers are not new – at the...more
On February 26, 2018, a unanimous 11-judge en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit upheld the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) over the non “carrier” activities of a company with common carrier lines of business...more
On Tuesday, August 1, 2017, a bipartisan group of four Senators from the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus introduced legislation designed to improve the cybersecurity of devices purchased by the U.S. government and – albeit...more
On May 11, 2017, the White House released its long-awaited Executive Order on cybersecurity (EO). The EO directs Executive Branch agencies to develop plans to assess and improve the cybersecurity of their own operations,...more
Attorneys Chris Savage, Peter Karanjia, and Dan Reing discuss the history and rationale of the Open Internet Order and the motivation and implications of the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision.
The FCC’s assumption affirms that...more
On June 14, 2016, the D.C. Circuit upheld the FCC’s 2015 order adopting its Open Internet rules against a wide range of legal challenges. (Our advisory describing the FCC’s rules can be found here.) In a detailed and lengthy...more
On Monday, June 22, 2015, the FCC released a Report and Order establishing a process to authorize interconnected VoIP providers to obtain direct access to telephone numbers. Once the process takes effect (after approval by...more
The Order does not formally modify the text of the existing “transparency” rule, which was upheld by the D.C. Circuit in Verizon v. FCC in 2014. However, the Order does prescribe numerous “enhancements” to the rule, which...more
Section 254(d) of the Act requires providers of “telecommunications services” to contribute to the federal Universal Service Fund (USF), which is used to subsidize telephone and broadband service in high-cost areas, for...more
As noted in the main text, the Order’s analysis of wireless broadband proceeds in two steps. First, as noted there, the Order reviews the technical and market characteristics of broadband Internet access service (BIAS) in...more
The Order tries to minimize the potential that state or local taxes on broadband Internet access service (BIAS) will increase as a result of reclassifying BIAS as a telecommunications service. BIAS providers, however, have...more
On a party-line 3-2 vote, the FCC on February 26, 2015, approved new Open Internet (or Net Neutrality) rules, although it has not released the text of its actual ruling. Based on an FCC press release and a written statement...more
On February 4, 2015, the FCC issued a press release describing the Open Internet (or Net Neutrality) rules Chairman Wheeler will bring to a vote at the Commission’s February 26, 2015 meeting. The draft order is now being...more
2/6/2015
On May 16, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)1 proposing revised “Open Internet” (or “net neutrality”) rules, in response to the January 2014 D.C. Circuit...more
Even as privacy advocates become increasingly nervous about the extent to which our communications devices keep tabs on our whereabouts, the FCC is looking to make it easier to monitor our location more precisely, at least...more
On Jan. 14, 2014, a D.C. Circuit panel struck down the portions of the FCC’s 2010 “Open Internet” (or “net neutrality”) rules that had banned blocking or discriminatory treatment of web sites or other online applications by...more
1/17/2014
/ Broadband ,
Cable Television Providers ,
Common Carriers ,
FCC ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Net Neutrality ,
Networks ,
Telecommunications ,
Telecommunications Act ,
Verizon