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The FCC has set the wheels in motion to reinstate open internet protections, sparking dynamic public conversations around net neutrality. They aim to frame both fixed and mobile broadband as imperative telecommunication services by the Communications Act. This move could effectively address the recurring issue of broadband outages impacting significant sectors like jobs, education, healthcare, safety, and more. However, the proposal doesn’t stop there, it also plans to ensure stringent nationwide open internet regulations to prevent ISPs from manipulating content accessibility based on payment.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the introduction of a new set of rules aimed at protecting consumers from scams that attempt to take control of their cell phone accounts. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel stated that these rules will ensure individuals maintain their freedom to choose their preferred device and provider while safeguarding them against fraudulent activities.

A group of consumer and privacy organizations, including the National Consumer Law Center and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny petitions aimed at allowing unsolicited bulk text messaging. The organization, which is made up of numerous telephone users from all around the country, feels that enabling such unwanted messages would be detrimental to customers.   In response to a proposed rulemaking in November 2022, some individuals have urged the FCC to allow businesses to send unwanted mass text messages to consumers without their consent. This would result in a rise in unwelcome texts, such as bothersome surveys, recurrent political messaging, and pestering debt collection requests. The FCC not taking action would be detrimental to customers, as they would lose their capacity to filter out undesirable messages.   The groups representing telephone subscribers are also requesting the FCC to release interpretations of the…

According to the Federal Communications Commission, callers must receive the recipient’s permission before leaving “ringless voicemails.” The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unanimously concluded that these quiet voicemails are subject to the same Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) provisions that prohibit robocalls without authorization.  Each year, the FCC receives numerous consumer complaints about ringless voicemail. As a result, the Commission has made it clear that robocalls, including ringless voicemail, are unlawful if they are made without the recipient’s prior affirmative consent. This decision took effect on the same day that it was made public, November 21, 2022. Any non-emergency call made to a wireless telephone number utilizing an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice is now forbidden under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which safeguards customers against unwanted robocalls. This decision comes five years after All About the Message, LLC (AATM) petitioned the…

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has named Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based cybersecurity business and developer of popular antivirus software, as one of the organizations posing an unacceptable danger to US national security.   Kaspersky is the first Russian company to be added to the list, which is currently dominated by Chinese telecoms companies. The FCC has now released its most recent list of untrustworthy vendors, which includes, for the first time, a non-Chinese company: Kaspersky. Kaspersky joins Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation, Hytera, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, Dahua Technology Company, China Telecom (Americas) and China Mobile International USA on the list.   Once a company has been included on the list, it is illegal for that organization to use federal subsidies, which are distributed through the FCC’s $8 billion yearly Universal Service Fund, or to buy any of its products or services. Domestic consumers, with the exception of government employees,…

The Federal Communications Commission got a settlement from four firms in relation to emergency calling standards that were not delivered in 2020. The federal prosecution focused on the four corporations involved in the 911 calls, namely Verizon, AT&T, Intrado, and Lumen Technologies, and their inability to fulfill 911 call delivery commitments.   Verizon has agreed to pay $274,000 to settle an inquiry into an outage that occurred on May 7, 2020. The other inquiries were all centered around outages on September 28, 2020. With its $460,000 payment, AT&T will resolve two investigations, while Lumen and Intrado will pay $3.8 million and $1.75 million, respectively. The massive payout demonstrates the corporations’ willingness to accept responsibility for their failure to effectively accommodate emergency calls.   Each firm has also promised to put in place a compliance strategy. Within 90 days of the consent decree’s effective date, each carrier must examine and adjust…