The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently issued an updated “Six-Step Compliance Plan for Businesses” (“Compliance Plan”) for entities subject to the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), 15 U.S.C....more
On June 7, 2017, the Canadian government announced that it is suspending indefinitely the private right of action provided for by Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”), which sets forth the country’s regime of disclosures,...more
The Federal Communications Commission has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) and Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) opening a new docket, Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, which proposes rules...more
On August 11, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a Report and Order (“R&O”) adopting rules to implement provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which amended the Telephone Consumer Protection Act...more
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Spokeo v. Robins that plaintiffs must allege a concrete and particularized injury to meet Article III standing requirements, federal district courts across the country are...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to amend its video description rules to increase the amount of required video described programming as well as the number...more
Last November, in pushing through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Congress inserted minor amendments to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to create a new exception to the TCPA’s prohibition on autodialed and...more
UPDATE: The FCC released its Second Report and Order on February 19, 2016. The advisory below has been updated to reflect the details of the order. At its Open Meeting on February 18, 2016, the Federal Communications...more
This past Nov. 18, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a new verifiable parental-consent method under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule, which will allow entities to use facial-recognition...more
Yesterday, at its February Open Meeting, the Federal Communications Commission revisited its closed captioning rules to answer open questions regarding which entities in the video programming production and distribution...more
A recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant cannot terminate a putative class action by offering the representative plaintiff complete relief, rejecting some courts’ dismissals of class action...more
On November 18, the Federal Trade Commission approved a new verifiable parental consent method under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule, which will allow entities to use facial recognition technology to...more
President Barak Obama recently signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314), which resolved major differences between the White House and Congress, thereby funding the federal government for the next two...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently became the first federal appellate court to apply the Federal Communications Commission’s declaratory ruling that expanded the notion of what constitutes an...more
11/5/2015
/ Appeals ,
Cell Phones ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
FCC ,
Mobile Devices ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Right to Privacy ,
Robocalling ,
Smartphones ,
Summary Judgment ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Text Messages ,
Wireless Devices ,
Yahoo!
Telemarketers and others who may have been wondering how the Federal Communications Commission’s recent and – to industry participants – concerning Declaratory Ruling and Order on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)...more
8/21/2015
/ Call Blocking ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
FCC ,
Mobile Broadband Services ,
Right to Privacy ,
Robocalling ,
Spoofing ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages
The Federal Trade Commission announced on July 31 that it is seeking public comment on a new verifiable parental consent method application submitted by Riyo under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. If...more
In potentially its most significant action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) since the 2003 overhaul of its rules ushering in the National Do-Not-Call Registry and other updates, the Federal Communications...more
7/15/2015
/ Banks ,
CAN-SPAM Act ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Debt Collectors ,
Do Not Call List ,
FCC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Inmates ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages ,
Unsolicited Phone Calls
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Declaratory Ruling and Order that resolves 19 petitions for declaratory ruling, one rulemaking petition and one petition for clarification, all arising out of an upsurge...more
Reigniting their previous bipartisan attempts to amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and add greater privacy protections for children and younger teens, U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the text of its Second Report and Order (R&O) adopting rules requiring multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to pass through the secondary audio stream...more
6/5/2015
/ Accessibility Rules ,
Cable Television Providers ,
Covered Entities ,
CVAA ,
Disability ,
Emergency Alerts ,
FCC ,
Multichannel Video Programming ,
MVPD ,
NPRM ,
Public Comment ,
Television Broadcast Stations
On Wednesday, May 27, 2015, the FCC released a Fact Sheet announcing that Chairman Wheeler circulated a proposal to the other Commissioners for resolution of two dozen pending petitions seeking clarification of the FCC’s...more
At its May 21, 2015, Open Meeting, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted new rules requiring visually displayed emergency information to be available aurally on “second screens” – such as tablets, laptops, or...more
In a move that may greatly impact litigation under the Telephone Consumer Privacy Act (TCPA) and potentially other acts that provide statutory damages for violations, the high court will hear arguments in a case questioning...more
In essence, the question presented in Spokeo is whether a statutory violation, without more, satisfies the injury requirements for Article III standing purposes. Should the Court rule in Spokeo, Inc.’s favor when it hears the...more
5/4/2015
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Imminent Harm ,
Popular ,
Private Right of Action ,
SCOTUS ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Statutory Damages ,
Young Lawyers
On April 27 the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, setting the stage for the high court to resolve a critical standing question that is an issue in almost all online privacy cases:...more