Today:  Mississippi PSC Charges Telemarketers for No-Call Violations, Hearings on Facebook Privacy 

Mississippi PSC Charges 19 Telemarketers for No-Call Violations

In a news release the Public Service Commission advised it charged 19 telemarketers for violating the Mississippi No-Call law.  The PSC alleges that those companies made 263 illegal calls to people in its state.  Also, the companies will be subject to $5,000 per call fines. 

Commissioner Presley stated “we are committed to charging every, single predatory telemarketer that violates the No-Call law. Mississippians deserve to have their privacy protected. This action sends a message to these companies and others that if you invade the privacy of our citizens, the PSC is coming after you.”

Hearings on Facebook Privacy Scheduled

The Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committee announced that it will hold a hearing on April 10, 2018 titled “Facebook, Social Media Privacy, and the Use and Abuse of Data.”  Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, will be testifying before the committee. 

Senator Chuck Grassley said, “social media has revolutionized the way we communicate, using data to connect people from around the world.  With all of the data exchanged over Facebook and other platforms, users deserve to know how their information is shared and secured.  This hearing will explore approaches to privacy that satisfy consumer expectations while encouraging innovation.” 

On the House side, the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before that committee on Wednesday, April 11th, 2018, regarding the company’s use and protection of user data.  

Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) issued a statement saying:   “This hearing will be an important opportunity to shed light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal information online. We appreciate Mr. Zuckerberg’s willingness to testify before the committee, and we look forward to him answering our questions on April 11th."

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.

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