Compliance Updates & Enforcement – Page 4

Eleventh Circuit Endorses Different TCPA Liability Standards for Faxes and Calls

Nov 14 2014

The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit recently ruled in Palm Beach Golf Center-Boca, Inc. v. Sarris that a company that contracted with a third party advertising firm to send fax advertisements could be directly liable under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for faxes sent by the third-party firm on the company’s behalf. In so holding, the 11th Circuit adopted a framework advanced by the Federal Communications Commission that imposes broader liability for third-party faxing than for third-party calling made on a company’s behalf. Read More

Eleventh Circuit Bolsters FCC Interpretation of “Prior Express Consent” under the TCPA

Nov 14 2014

By Gregory N. Blase, Andrew C. Glass, and Samantha A. Miko

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently bolstered the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) interpretation of “prior express consent,” a key term under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”).

In Mais v. Gulf Coast Collection Bureau, Inc., the plaintiff’s wife provided the plaintiff’s cellphone number on a hospital admittance form. The form disclosed that any information supplied could be shared with the hospital’s affiliates and used for any purpose, including for billing. After the plaintiff failed to pay a hospital affiliate’s invoice for treatment services rendered, the affiliate provided the plaintiff’s contact information to the defendant, which initiated collection activity, including contacting the plaintiff at the cellphone number that was provided on his admittance form by his wife.

FCC Confirms ‘Opt-Out’ Notice Requirement for All Fax Advertisements

Nov 11 2014

By Molly K. McGinley, Nicole C. Mueller, and Joseph C. Wylie II

The Federal Communications Commission recently released an Order in response to multiple petitions confirming that opt-out notices are required on all advertisements transmitted by facsimile, even those sent with the prior express permission of the recipient. The FCC also granted retroactive waivers to petitioners that were reasonably uncertain, based on ambiguities in a 2006 Report and Order modifying the FCC’s junk fax rules, about whether the opt-out notice requirement applied to faxes sent at the invitation of the recipient. The FCC indicated that it would also entertain retroactive waivers requests from similarly situated parties filed prior to April 30, 2015. Read More

FCC Regulatory Fees for 2011 Due by September 14th

Aug 23 2011

The FCC issued a public notice last week announcing that FCC licensees and various types of FCC-regulated service providers must pay their 2011 annual regulatory fees to the Commission no later than September 14, 2011. Entities owing fees must ensure their payments are received by September 14th to avoid incurring a 25% late-payment fee. The annual regulatory fees are mandated by Congress under Section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, which requires the FCC to collect regulatory fees to recover the regulatory costs associated with the agency’s activities. Regulated entities can find additional information regarding the assessment of fees and payment methods at a special section of the FCC’s website.

Restrictive Website Rules Found to Be Anticompetitive

Apr 19 2011

By Scott M. Mendel and Michelle S. Taylon

In Realcomp II, Ltd. v. FTC (6th Cir. April 6, 2011), the Sixth Circuit upheld the Federal Trade Commission’s conclusion that Realcomp, a Detroit area multiple listing service, violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act by adopting rules restricting the ability of its broker members to advertise discounted brokerage services. While none of Realcomp’s website restrictions eliminated discount brokerage services or information regarding such services, they made such information less accessible and more costly to obtain. That was enough for the court to conclude that Realcomp’s policies had an actual anticompetitive effect based on the decline in the share of listings accounted for by discount listings.

The Realcomp decision can have significant implications for businesses, especially joint ventures, considering rules that restrict the information that can be disseminated over their websites. Rules that prevent, restrict, or make more costly the dissemination of information relating to discounted services must be reviewed carefully to determine their potential for anticompetitive effects.

Doing Business in Mexico? It’s Time to Revise Your Privacy Practices

Mar 22 2011

By Holly K. Towle, Henry L. Judy, Samuel R. Castic

On July 6, 2010, Mexico’s “Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties” took effect, and some of the most stringent requirements are currently scheduled to take effect in July 2011. Accordingly, the time for companies that are covered by the law to adjust their privacy policies and business practices is today, not mañana.[1] In many ways, this law is more robust than approaches taken to data protection in the United States. It brings Mexican privacy law far closer to, or goes beyond, the concepts and structure of the European Data Protection Directive (“EU Directive”)[2] or other approaches such as the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.[3] The law also seems to approximate the European Union approach of treating data protection as a basic right.[4] This Alert discusses some of the key provisions of Mexico’s new law.

K&L Gates Global Government Solutions Report Includes Articles on Key TMT, Privacy and Patent Developments

Feb 17 2011

K&L Gates recently published its Global Government Solutions 2011 Annual Outlook, which contains articles from around the firm on key governmental developments expected in 2011.

The Annual Outlook includes an article addressing developments affecting the Telecom, Media and Technology sector in 2011 by DC partners Marc Martin and Marty Stern, noting that the TMT sector enters 2011 with significant regulatory uncertainty and the FCC facing an uphill battle on many signature regulatory initiatives.

The article reviews the FCC’s net neutrality order and the challenges it faces in court and on Capitol Hill, discusses the recent FCC and Department of Justice approvals of the Comcast/NBCU transaction, and a number of additional issues getting significant focus in 2011. These include retransmission consent battles between broadcasters and cable/DBS providers and the FCC’s expected rulemaking proceeding on this issue, the Commission’s implementation of new communications accessibility requirements under the new 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, and continued efforts to reform the Universal Service Fund and make it broadband-centric.

CALEA II – Bigger and Badder?

Jan 04 2011

Recent leaks to the New York Times, as reported in September and October, indicate that the Obama administration will next year be pushing for sweeping expansions of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). CALEA facilitates government surveillance by, among other things, requiring companies subject to the law both to design their systems so that the government can easily plug in and intercept communications in real-time and to provide assistance to the government in these efforts.

A task force comprised of representatives from DOJ, Commerce, the FBI, and other agencies, are discussing amendments to the law. These changes would greatly expand the reach of CALEA, would significantly increase the costs of non-compliance for covered companies, and would include other requirements which may fundamentally change business models for companies promising encryption and decentralized communication services.

New Disability Access Requirements for Advanced Communications and Video

Dec 22 2010

By Marty Stern (Washington, DC), Carol Lumpkin (Miami) and Stephanie N. Moot (Miami).

The President signed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 on October 8, 2010 (the “ComVid Accessibility Act” or “Act”). The ComVid Accessibility Act expands various disability access requirements to VoIP phones, browser-enabled smart phones, text messaging, Internet-enabled video devices, on-line video of TV programming, TV navigation devices, and programming guides and menus, among other things.

Karen Peltz Strauss, who has the lead at the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) on implementing the ComVid Accessibility Act, appeared on a recent live program on Internet TV channel Broadband US TV and discussed the FCC’s “enormous mandate” to implement the new Act. Click here for a clip of Ms. Peltz Strauss’ comments on the program. (with permission from TV Worldwide).[1] According to Ms. Peltz Strauss, “Every segment of the industry that has anything to do with broadband, television, including cable, satellite or broadcast, Internet-based television, as well as . . . Internet-based providers, traditionally regulated [telephone] companies, wireless companies” needs to be paying attention to the new Act. “Virtually every segment that has anything to do with communications or video programming is covered.”

The 19th Annual Seattle Conference on Current Developments in Technology Law

Nov 10 2010

December 9-10, 2010

Washington State Convention Center
Seattle, WA

Online brochure

Presenters: Holly K. Towle
Sponsors: Law Seminars International

As the distinctions between telephone, television and data services disappear, many of the old geographical and functional boxes that used to help us organize our thinking have become irrelevant. Super computing, almost ubiquitous broadband, advanced visualization and large-scale data gathering have created new competitive opportunities on a global scale. They also have unleashed a torrent of fragmented information and the pressing question of what is really valuable.

We now have news aggregation services to manage the torrent, but what are the limits on the aggregator’s use of copyrighted material? New social media services have created new marketing opportunities, but also new challenges for managing your online reputation. Distributed computing services are triggering a transition from point-of-sale product licensing to services access subscriptions and long term interactive relationships. New friction points, particularly those involving consumers, are leading to new regulatory requirements for technology companies.

Catagory:Compliance Updates & Enforcement