Today's Regulatory Mix: FCC Mandates STIR/SHAKEN, FCC Proposes Elimination of Certain Line Item Charges, FTC Says Data Shows Increase in Coronavirus-Related Complaints
FCC Mandates STIR/SHAKEN
At its Open Meeting this morning, the FCC voted to require all originating and terminating voice service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN in the Internet Protocol (IP) portions of their networks by June 30, 2021, a deadline that is consistent with Congress’s direction in the recently-enacted TRACED Act.
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Topics:
FTC,
STIR/SHAKEN,
Coronavirus,
Line Item Charges
Today's Regulatory Mix: FTC Warns Service Providers Against "Assisting and Facilitating" Illegal Coronavirus-Related Telemarketing Calls, FCC Announces New COVID-19 Telehealth Program , FCC Home Network Tips for the Coronavirus Pandemic, FCC Supports Tribal Connectivity in New Mexico
FTC Warns Service Providers Against ‘Assisting and Facilitating’ Illegal Coronavirus-Related Telemarketing Calls
In a press release, the FTC announced its staff sent letters to nine Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers and other companies warning them that “assisting and facilitating” illegal telemarketing or robocalls related to the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic is against the law.
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Topics:
FTC,
FCC Telehealth Program,
telemarketing calls,
COVID-19,
Coronavirus,
Tribal Connectivity in New Mexico
Today's Regulatory Mix: FCC Grants TRS Waivers in Light of COVID-19, FCC Waives E-Rate and RHC Gift Rules, FTC Outlines Response to COVID-19
FCC Grants TRS Waivers in Light of COVID-19
The FCC has granted Telecommunications Relay Service providers temporary waivers to better enable American Sign Language interpreters to work from home in order to maintain relay services during the current coronavirus pandemic for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind, or have a speech disability.
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Topics:
TRS,
FTC,
FCC E-Rate,
COVID-19,
RHC Gift Rules
51 State Attorneys General and 12 Major Carriers Announce Anti-Robocall Principles
In a press release the Attorney General of North Carolina announced they joined 50 other Attorneys General and 12 phone companies to create a set of principles aimed at thwarting illegal robocalls. In the release the AG advised that the phone companies have agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls.
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Topics:
FTC,
SHAKEN/STIR,
Anti-Robocall Principles,
2020 DNC Registry Fees
Senate Bill Would Give the FTC Jurisdiction Over Telecom Companies
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Protection from Robocalling Act to combat the dramatic increase in illegal robocalls. The bill amends the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act by removing in its entirety (i.e., not merely for purposes of regulating robocalling activity) the provision that exempts common carriers regulated by the FCC from the FTC’s jurisdiction.
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Topics:
FTC,
US Senate,
CRTC,
IIA,
Protection from Robocalling Act,
ISP Code of Conduct,
Internet Innovation Alliance
US Senate Broadband Data Mapping Bill
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., John Thune, R-S.D., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act. The legislation would improve the accuracy of the FCC’s broadband availability maps by strengthening the process by which broadband data is collected.
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Topics:
FTC,
Broadband Data Mapping Bill,
Privacy Shield Compliance,
high-speed broadband
US Senate Oversight Hearing
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced the committee will convene a hearing titled, “Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission,” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 12, 2019. As part of the Committee’s oversight responsibilities, this hearing will examine policy issues before the Federal Communications Commission and review its ongoing activities and proceedings. All five FCC Commissioners are expected to testify.
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Topics:
broadband,
FTC,
high-cost support,
ISPs,
internet service providers,
U.S. Senate Oversight of the FCC,
Colorado Net Neutrality
FTC Charges Telemarketer for Making Illegal and Unsolicited Calls
The FTC issued a press release advising that it has charged a telemarketing operation and its owners with making millions of illegal, unsolicited calls about educational programs to consumers who submitted their contact information to websites promising help with job searches, public benefits, and other unrelated programs.
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Topics:
FTC,
cybersecurity,
Privacy Bill of Rights Act,
Illegal and Unsolicited Calls
US Congress Data Privacy Act
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the Digital Accountability and Transparency to Advance (DATA) Privacy Act. The Act strengthens data privacy protections for American consumers while also ensuring corporations are focusing on implementing new data security standards and essential privacy protections. It also increases research into technologies that protect Americans’ privacy and shields small businesses from unnecessary regulation.
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Topics:
FTC,
National Consumer Protection Week,
Federal Trade Commission,
data security standards,
DATA Act
FTC Task Force to Monitor Technology Markets
The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition announced the creation of a task force dedicated to monitoring competition in U.S. technology markets, investigating any potential anticompetitive conduct in those markets, and taking enforcement actions when warranted.
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Topics:
FTC,
rate-of-return ILECs,
FCC A-CAM Support,
Texas Chapter 26 Rules
