DC Circuit Affirms FCC’s Open Internet Order
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected multiple Petitions for Review and upheld the FCC’s Open Internet Order. That order reclassified wired and mobile broadband Internet access...
View ArticleFTC Settles Case against Vulcun for Force-Installing Apps
On May 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it had approved an order with General Workings, Inc., d/b/a “Vulcun,” settling charges that the company violated the Federal Trade Commission Act...
View ArticleMore Talk on Further OIO Review… And Will the Sixth Circuit Look at How the...
It seems likely that one or more Petitioners in the consolidated case USTA v. FCC will seek review, either en banc or in the Supreme Court, of the D.C. Circuit’s decision released on June 14th. (DWT’s...
View ArticleDefinition of “PII” Under VPPA Continues to Evolve with 3rd Circuit Ruling
On June 27, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit became the latest appellate court to weigh how the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA or “the Act”) – a 1988 statute meant to protect...
View Article6th Circuit Reverses FCC’s Preemption of State Law
Yesterday the Sixth Circuit granted two petitions for review in The State of Tennessee et al. v. FCC and issued its opinion reversing the FCC’s order that preempted the laws of Tennessee and North...
View ArticleNinth Circuit Rules All Common Carriers Beyond Reach of FTC’s Consumer...
In a decision that could significantly impact the scope of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit...
View ArticleHotly Anticipated Broadband Privacy Order Released by FCC
On Nov. 2, 2016, the FCC released its long-awaited broadband privacy Order and rules by a 3-2 vote. The Order comes nearly 18 months after the Commission moved to reclassify broadband internet access...
View ArticleThe Real Takeaway from VIZIO’s Privacy FTC Settlement
It has been widely reported that VIZIO, Inc., a large television manufacturer, settled a Complaint brought by the FTC and the Attorney General of New Jersey for $2.2 million for alleged unfair and...
View ArticleThe Need for Speed 2: FCC Releases Final NPRM to Accelerate Broadband Deployment
On April 21, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) released its final version of the combined Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Notice of Inquiry and Request for Comment in the matter...
View ArticleEighth Circuit Affirms FCC’s 2015 Order Equalizing Cable and Telecom Pole...
On Monday, July 31, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in a unanimous opinion, affirmed the FCC’s November 2015 Order on Reconsideration closing the “telecom formula loophole” to...
View ArticleLouisville’s “One-Touch” Make-Ready Ordinance Upheld
In the first decision to consider the legality of a “one touch” make-ready ordinance, a federal district court in Kentucky upheld a City of Louisville law authorizing new attachers to utility poles to...
View ArticleFCC Proposes To Overhaul Procedural Rules Applicable To Pole Attachment...
On September 18, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) that would significantly change the procedural rules governing formal pole...
View ArticleFormer Subscriber Has No Right to Damages for Video Provider’s Failure to...
In Padilla v. DISH Network L.L.C., a former subscriber alleged DISH failed to destroy his personally identifiable information (PII) upon cancellation of service, and failed to continue sending annual...
View Article9th Circuit Joffe v. Google "Street View" Decision Raises Questions About...
Last week, the Ninth Circuit held that the Wiretap Act prohibits the kind of “interception” and collection of transmissions from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks that Google reportedly followed in compiling...
View ArticleMore Online Trouble for Service Providers?
Google is facing increased scrutiny of its data collection and use practices, which may be a warning to all Internet and online service providers. Last week, Judge Koh in San Jose held Google...
View ArticleUpdate: Google Not Going Down Without a Fight
Google is seeking further review in two cases we wrote about last week on alleged Wiretap Act violations. In the Gmail case, where Google was charged with improperly reviewing subscribers’ emails,...
View ArticleSCOTUS Denies Cert in Challenge to Facebook's "Beacon" Class Action Settlement
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a case challenging the fairness of a cy pres settlement of a class action against Facebook related to Facebook’s “Beacon” program that was launched in late...
View ArticleCanada Adopts Final Regulations, Announces Expansive Anti-Spam Law Will Start...
Canada’s Department of Industry has published long-awaited Governor in Council regulations and announced key compliance dates necessary to implement Canada’s anti-spam law (CASL), which was enacted...
View ArticleGoogle Street View Class Action Survives: Ninth Circuit Holds Wi-Fi is Not...
In the latest development in the Google Street View case, the Ninth Circuit once again upheld the lower court’s decision that Google’s collection of unencrypted Wi-Fi does not fit within an exception...
View ArticleGoogle "Street View" case may be headed for SCOTUS Review
Google held true to its promise to seek SCOTUS review of the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation of the term “radio communications” in the Wiretap Act when it filed its Petition for Certiorari last week....
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