The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every facet of society in unpredictable ways, and the laws and regulations governing calls and text messages are no exception. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a recent declaratory ruling clarifying when calls and text messages relating to COVID-19 are permissible under the TCPA’s “emergency purposes” exception, but most businesses will not be able to rely on that exception. In certain states, COVID-19 state-of-emergency declarations have triggered widespread restrictions on telemarketing. In non-COVID-19 news, debate continues over what constitutes an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) under the TCPA, and — in a surprising turn of events — the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the 9th Circuit in adopting a broad definition.Continue Reading Most COVID-19 Calls Are Not an “Emergency Purpose,” and Other Unexpected Developments

On April 3, 2017, President Trump signed a repeal of new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that would have subjected broadband internet service providers (ISPs) to more stringent consumer privacy regulations. Specifically, the FCC’s rule would have required ISPs to obtain opt-in consent from consumers before using and sharing sensitive information such as geo-location, web

This morning the FCC voted along party lines to adopt rules subjecting broadband internet service providers (ISPs) to new consumer privacy regulations. According to the FCC’s press release, the rules give “customers the tools they need to make informed decisions about how their information is used.”  This includes requiring ISPs to gain opt-in consent from

Yesterday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed its revamped broadband privacy regulations. In March, the FCC initially proposed privacy rules which were highly criticized by everyone from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to small business owners. The new rules contain less regulation and they more closely resemble the FTC approach to privacy. In fact

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has faced intense opposition to its proposed privacy rules for internet service providers (ISPs) – and debate is expected to escalate very soon. The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary begins its review of the proposal tomorrow.

Originally released April 1, 2016, the 147-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requires ISPs

handshake-220233_1280The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently formalized an agreement to cooperate when regulating the “deceptive, unfair, unjust and/or unreasonable” acts and practices of common carriers.  In addition to outlining the scope of the agencies’ enforcement authorities, the FCC-FTC Consumer Protection Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) details a commitment to information sharing