Today's Regulatory Mix: FTC & FCC Send Letters to More VoIP Providers Facilitating Illegal Coronavirus-related Robocalls
FTC & FCC Send Letters to More VoIP Providers Facilitating Illegal Coronavirus-related Robocalls
In an FTC news release, along with the FCC, both commissions announced they have sent joint letters to three companies providing VoIP services, warning them that routing and transmitting illegal coronavirus-related scam robocalls is itself illegal and may lead to federal law enforcement against them.
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Topics:
FCC,
FTC,
Robocall,
USTelecom,
robocall traceback,
COVID-19,
TSR
FTC Settles Robocall Complaint
The FTC announced that three individuals and a telephone call center that helped Florida-based Grand Bahama Cruise Line LLC (GBCL) and others to make millions of illegal robocalls to consumers settled a Federal Trade Commission complaint and are permanently barred from making telemarketing robocalls.
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Topics:
Robocall,
DIGIT Act,
FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection,
Developing and Growing the Internet of Things
U.S. and UK Strike Law Enforcement Data Access Agreement
In a press release, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the United States and the United Kingdom entered into the world’s first ever Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act) Agreement that will allow American and British law enforcement agencies, with appropriate authorization, to demand electronic data regarding serious crime, including terrorism, child sexual abuse, and cybercrime, directly from tech companies based in the other country, without legal barriers.
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Topics:
Robocall,
DOJ,
Law Enforcement Data Access Agreement,
Pennsylvania Telemarketing Law,
United Kingdom,
cybercrime,
CLOUD Act
FCC Affirms Robocall Blocking By Default
At its Open Meeting today, the FCC voted to issue a Declaratory Ruling that affirms that voice service providers may, as the default, block unwanted calls based on reasonable call analytics, as long as their customers are informed and have the opportunity to opt out of the blocking. While many phone companies now offer their customers call blocking tools on an opt-in basis, the Declaratory Ruling clarifies that they can provide them as the default, thus allowing them to protect more consumers from unwanted robocalls and making it more cost-effective to implement call blocking programs.
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Topics:
Robocall,
Robocall Blocking by Default,
Alternative Connect America Model II,
Leased Access Rules,
A-CAM II
US Senate Passes TRACED Act
In response to the Senate’s passage of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, which targets illegal robocalls. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr each issued statements of support.
Chairman Pai released a statement saying, in part: “I commend the U.S. Senate for passing the TRACED Act and Senators Thune and Markey for leading this bipartisan effort. The TRACED Act would help strengthen the FCC’s ability to combat illegal robocalls, and we would welcome these additional tools to fight this scourge.
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Topics:
Robocall,
Connect America Fund Phase II,
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai,
TRACED Act,
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr,
FCC CAF II Awards
Court Denies Motion to Delay Oral Arguments in Net Neutrality Challenge
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has denied the FCC’s motion to postpone oral arguments in the challenge to the agency’s Restoring Internet Freedom (RIF) order. In a previous filing the FCC cited that the lapse in its funding as well as the Department of Justice were the reasons why the arguments should be postponed. The Court stated that oral argument is still scheduled for February 1, 2019. The Court’s website states that oral arguments on the calendar for the month of January and February will go on as scheduled in spite of the government shutdown.
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Topics:
Net Neutrality,
Robocall,
US Court of Appeals,
TRACED Act,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
American Data Dissemination Act,
ADD Act,
Privacy Act of 1974,
Senator Edward Markey,
Senator John Thune,
Senator Marco Rubio
The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of 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 a TMI Regulatory Bulletin.
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Topics:
FCC,
The Regulatory Mix,
Lifeline,
US Senate,
Privacy Act,
Robocall
The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of 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 a TMI Regulatory Bulletin.
Read More
Topics:
FCC,
The Regulatory Mix,
911,
Illinois,
Robocall
