The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has unanimously approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) and Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”), proposing first-of-their-kind AI-generated robocall and robotext rules that would...more
In April, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopted its Net Neutrality Order which once again reclassified Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) as a Title II, common carrier service. ...more
7/31/2024
/ Broadband ,
Bulk Purchasing ,
Cable Operators ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Common Carriers ,
Communications Act of 1934 ,
FCC ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Net Neutrality ,
Open Internet Rules ,
Opt-Outs ,
Pending Litigation ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Telecommunications ,
Title II
In this first-of-its kind enforcement action, the FCC has proposed forfeitures not only against a party for allegedly instigating a deepfake, robocall campaign, but also against the voice provider for alleged STIR/SHAKEN...more
Aligning itself with three other federal appellate courts, the Second Circuit recently made clear in Soliman v. Subway Franchisee Adver. Fund Trust, Ltd., No. 22-1726-cv, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 11417 (2d Cir. May 10, 2024),...more
The FCC has adopted a Report and Order imposing a number of new TCPA caller and sender compliance obligations in connection with consumer revocation requests, which are applicable to calls and text messages that otherwise...more
2/23/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cell Phones ,
Comment Period ,
Consent ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
Lead Generators ,
Natural Language Processing ,
New Rules ,
NPRM ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Revocation ,
TCPA ,
Totality of Circumstances Test
On February 2, the FCC unanimously adopted a declaratory ruling, effective immediately, confirming the seemingly unremarkable conclusion that artificial intelligence (“AI”) generated messages or voice calls fall within the...more
2/15/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cease and Desist ,
Clones ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Deep Fake ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCC ,
Robocalling ,
Spoofing ,
TCPA ,
Unsolicited Phone Calls
On December 18, 2023 the FCC released a Second Report and Order, Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), and Waiver Order, which it considered and adopted at its December Open Meeting, furthering what it...more
1/4/2024
/ Call Blocking ,
Comment Period ,
Do Not Call List ,
Email ,
Enforcement Authority ,
FCC ,
Lead Generators ,
NPRM ,
Opt-In ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Text Messages
The FCC has adopted a Notice of Inquiry seeking public comment on the use of evolving AI technologies in robocall and robotext campaigns, potential consumer impacts, and associated issues surrounding TCPA compliance and the...more
11/27/2023
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Comment Period ,
Compliance ,
Facebook Inc v Duguid ,
FCC ,
Public Comment ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages
Following the recent Ninth Circuit decision in Trim v. Reward Zone USA LLC, No. 22-55517, 2023 WL 5025264 (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2023), see previous post, where the court held that SMS messages that lack any audible component are...more
In recent years, the U.S. has pursued a whole-of-government approach to target Chinese technology and service providers in furtherance of foreign policy and national security objectives....more
8/31/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Commerce Control List ,
ECCNs ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Outbound Transactions ,
Popular ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications
The FCC has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to further tighten and to codify in its rules various Commission declaratory rulings on TCPA consent requirements that are applicable to autodialed calls and...more
Ever wonder why you may be advised to scrub lists for reassigned numbers or use the FCC’s Reassigned Number Database prior to texting or calling numbers from a database? Well, here’s a great practical example. ...more
Consumer frustration with illegal robocalls and robotexts has placed the FCC’s related regulatory scheme top of mind for regulators and legislators alike.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently sent a letter to...more
The White House has provided updates on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act). Notably, the White House released fact sheets for providing detailed information about announced...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exceeded its statutory authority in requiring, as part of a new foreign sponsorship...more
7/26/2022
/ Broadcasting ,
China ,
Communications Act of 1934 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCC ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Governments ,
Russia ,
Sponsors ,
Statutory Authority ,
Television Broadcast Stations ,
Verification Requirements
Today, President Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order containing 72 directives for more than a dozen federal agencies to impose regulations, largely aimed at Big Tech and Telecom to reshape and promote competition within...more
7/16/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
Broadband ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Net Neutrality ,
Telecommunications ,
Transparency
The breadth and scope of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay and the potential cost a company may face for violating the stay made national news last week in a dust-up between two telecom providers, when the U.S. Bankruptcy...more
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant gaps in the availability of broadband access faced by millions of rural and low-income Americans, and the vulnerability of our broadband networks to single points of failure and...more
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) has announced that it has begun targeting property owners and managers for knowingly permitting illegal AM and FM radio broadcasting from...more
This week marks a stunning (literally) transition in our three-month COVID-19 State Closure/Reopening Project. Every state in the country is now squarely in the process of going green — reopening all sectors of their...more
6/12/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Recessions ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
State and Local Government ,
World Health Organization
In a surprise move, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai joined up last week with Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher Krebs to...more
6/5/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Essential Functions ,
FCC ,
Guidance Update ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Distancing ,
Telecommunications
Over the last two weeks, COVID-19 state business closure orders, which we are tracking on our 50-State interactive guide, and their related stay at home orders, have come at a fast and furious pace. From just a handful at...more
As more state and local governments weigh “shelter in place” orders in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, many businesses across the country are asking what constitutes an “essential” business and what to do if you...more
On August 2, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) released a Report and Order on 911 calling capability requirements that affect virtually anyone in the enterprise calling platform ecosystem,...more
While uncertainty remains about the terms and indeed the exact date by which the UK will leave the European Union, US companies that export electronic products to the EU and the UK marked with the "CE" symbol for EU...more