Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding its Emergency Alert Service (“EAS”) rules. These rules govern how emergency alerts are transmitted by federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial officials to the public over mobile phones, radios, and televisions.… Continue Reading
FCC Chairman Pai announced today that the FCC will move forward with a rulemaking to clarify the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). To date, Section 230 generally has been interpreted to mean that social media companies, ISPs, and other “online intermediaries” have not been subject to liability for their users’ … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) circulated a new Net Neutrality Order for consideration at its October meeting. This draft Order on Remand does not mark a change in the FCC’s Net Neutrality policy; rather, it responds to several issues raised by the D.C. Circuit in Mozilla v. FCC, which reviewed the 2017 Restoring Internet … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) unanimously adopted an order formalizing the referral and review process associated with “Team Telecom”—the group of national security and law enforcement agencies responsible for assessing foreign investment in U.S. telecommunications, submarine cable licensees, and broadcast licensees. The order adopts rules and procedures that will govern what has long been … Continue Reading
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission circulated a draft order that will formalize its coordination with what has been known as “Team Telecom”—the national security review process for foreign investments in U.S. telecommunications companies. The draft order, which the FCC will consider for adoption at its September 30 Open Meeting, includes rules and procedures governing … Continue Reading
A little over a month ago, the deadline for appealing the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Mozilla v. FCC expired. The Mozilla decision upheld the FCC’s 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order (“Order”), which rolled back Obama-era net neutrality regulations to largely deregulate broadband internet service provider (“ISP”) practices. No party sought Supreme Court review of the … Continue Reading
FCC Chairman Pai announced today that the FCC would seek public comment on the Administration’s July 27 Petition for Rulemaking on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA)—the law that to date has meant that social media companies, ISPs, and other “online intermediaries” have not been subject to liability for their users’ actions. Comments … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has again demonstrated that enabling the 5G ecosystem that, among other things, will drive breakthroughs in the Internet of Things (IoT), remains an agency priority. In a meeting late last week, the FCC adopted multiple items aimed at expanding spectrum availability and access for 5G applications and services, as well … Continue Reading
It is now four months after the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) came into force. One of its objectives is to create uniform standards for data protection in Europe and to adapt data protection to technical progress. In addition, the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the respect for … Continue Reading
The European Commission estimates that the global market for the Internet of Things (“IoT”) will grow to 75.4 billion devices by 2023. It also estimates that the economic value of spectrum enabled services is at present worth €500 billion per year. This is expected to increase by 200% – up to €1 trillion a year … Continue Reading
In April 2018, China released its nationwide automatic vehicle road testing rules, the Intelligent Internet-connected Vehicles Road Test Administrative Rules (for Trial Implementation) (the “National Rules”), which took effect on May 1, 2018. “Intelligent Internet-connected vehicles,” as defined under the National Rules, are commonly referred to as “intelligent vehicles” or “autonomous vehicles,” which involve a … Continue Reading
Mobile phone manufacturer BLU Products, Inc. entered into a settlement agreement with the FTC last week to resolve allegations that one of BLU’s China-based vendors collected personal information about its consumers without proper consent. The settlement agreement, which took the form of a consent order, applies not only to BLU but also to its CEO … Continue Reading
As we explained in a prior post, 5G deployment will be a critical component to the ever-evolving Internet of Things (IoT). On April 17, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Public Notice seeking comment on the competitive bidding procedures for auctions involving spectrum in the 28GHz and 24 GHz bands. The auction of 28 … Continue Reading
Updated (5/3/2018) On April 17, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) broke new ground in the agency’s role in national security policy by voting unanimously to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking captioned “Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through FCC Programs” (the “NPRM”). The deadline for filing comments is June 1, … Continue Reading
BEREC, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, recently held its 34th public debriefing in Brussels. It confirmed, among other developments, that it has made 5G a strategic European priority for the next 3 years, and has opened a public consultation on the European Net Neutrality Rules – which will run until April 25 … Continue Reading
In 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China’s telecom regulator and industrial policy maker, issued the Circular on Comprehensively Advancing the Construction and Development of Mobile Internet of Things (NB-IoT) (MIIT Circular [2017] No. 351, the “Circular”), which sets out the policy goals and plans for NB-IoT development in China and concrete … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission sent a letter to an individual in Brooklyn, New York, alleging that a device in the individual’s residence that is being used to mine Bitcoin is generating spurious radiofrequency emissions, causing interference to a portion of T-Mobile’s mobile telephone and broadband network. The letter states that on November 30, 2017, … Continue Reading
At the start of 2018, we find ourselves in the midst of an autonomous vehicles revolution. In the private sector, leading, and some nascent, autonomous mobility innovators have forged ahead with a surge of investment. Last year, The Brookings Institution found that during a snapshot between 2014 and 2017, more than 160 investments worth more … Continue Reading
This post was originally published on the Covington InsidePrivacy blog on January 19, 2018. On January 12, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas closed its doors for another year. Each CES raises a new set of technology themes, ranging from robots to smart fridges — and this year, the winner was voice … Continue Reading
Earlier today, the FCC placed on public notice two petitions requesting that the agency clarify or forbear from enforcing certain aspects of its new TCPA regulations that went into effect on October 16, 2013. Those regulations, which we summarized here, created, among other things, a new “prior express written consent” requirement for the transmission of … Continue Reading
On October 18, 2013, the FCC issued a Public Notice confirming the deadlines to submit comments and reply comments to refresh the record in the FCC’s pending “cramming” proceeding. Comments are due by November 18 and reply comments are due by December 2, 2013.… Continue Reading
Earlier today, two entities — the Direct Marketing Association (“DMA”) and a Coalition of Mobile Engagement Providers (“Coalition”) — filed petitions at the FCC asking the agency to stay and forbear from enforcing, or clarify, certain aspects of the “prior express written consent” requirement that went into effect yesterday for prerecorded calls to residential numbers and autodialed … Continue Reading
Last week, I spoke on a panel at the IAPP Privacy Academy about upcoming changes to FCC regulations governing the “prior express consent” requirement for, among other things, autodialed promotional text message and prerecorded call programs under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). These changes will take effect next week, on October 16, 2013. Some … Continue Reading
On 12 September, 2013, the European Commission formally adopted a proposal for a new Telecommunications Regulation (the “Regulation”). The Regulation would, if enacted, reform the European Union’s telecommunication rules, including in areas such as net neutrality, spectrum allocation, roaming charges, and consumer rights in mobile and telecoms contracts. The proposal is now being considered by … Continue Reading
