Telecommunications

  • April 16, 2024

    AT&T Unit Urges Justices To Weigh In On FCC E-Rate Saga

    An AT&T subsidiary is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on whether reimbursement requests for the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program for schools and libraries are "claims" under the False Claims Act, part of a whistleblower suit accusing the company of overcharging public schools and libraries.

  • April 16, 2024

    Smartmatic Settles Election Defamation Suit Against OANN

    Electronic voting system company Smartmatic has settled its defamation suit in Washington, D.C., federal court alleging One America News Network peddled conspiracy theories claiming the firm rigged voting machines during the 2020 presidential election, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

  • April 15, 2024

    Conn. Court Should Allow Award For PTSD Firing, Agency Says

    Connecticut's state human rights watchdog has urged a state court to uphold a $62,000 award in favor of a Charter Communications worker who says she was fired because she had post-traumatic stress disorder, arguing that the decision followed sound legal principles and the judicial branch should defer to the agency's ruling.

  • April 15, 2024

    Hytera Still Not Doing All It Can To Stop Fine, Motorola Says

    Hytera Communications has continued to drag its feet as it tries to lift the sanctions against it for participating in Chinese litigation against a court order, Motorola Solutions told the Seventh Circuit, arguing that a district court judge's daily status hearings ensure Hytera is being compelled to comply without being punished.

  • April 15, 2024

    House Rejects Bid To Overturn Spy Bill Authorization

    The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday rejected an attempt to overturn legislation reauthorizing a controversial foreign surveillance program after several Republican lawmakers took issue with the exclusion of a warrant requirement for accessing U.S. citizens' information.

  • April 15, 2024

    Minimize Nat'l Security Regs On Broadband, Verizon Says

    Verizon said the Federal Communications Commission should not impose national security reviews that could disrupt existing broadband service when it passes a net neutrality order as expected this month.

  • April 15, 2024

    Apple Faces Two Suits Over IPhone Market Dominance

    Apple has been hit with a pair of suits alleging it has unfairly stifled competition in the smartphone market and that its practices and iPhone sales have violated federal securities and antitrust laws.

  • April 15, 2024

    Apple Defends Anti-Steering Rule Compliance In Epic Case

    Apple told a California federal court it has fully complied with an order barring anti-steering rules in its App Store and said complaints from Epic Games, Microsoft and others about its compliance are just efforts by the companies to pad their own profits.

  • April 15, 2024

    MCA Reaches $100K FCC Settlement Over Radio Licenses

    Mobile Communications America Inc. reached a $100,000 settlement Monday with the Federal Communications Commission, resolving claims that it failed to seek approval to transfer control of several business radio licenses.

  • April 15, 2024

    Meta, FTC Pause Constitutionality Fight For High Court Ruling

    Meta and the Federal Trade Commission agreed Monday to pause Meta's challenge of FTC changes to a 2020 settlement over user privacy until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling on a similar case involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • April 15, 2024

    LA County Tells FCC It Supports Plan To Georoute 988 Calls

    Support is growing for a Federal Communications Commission proposal to require georouting calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, with Los Angeles County backing the idea Friday in a filing with the agency, and other groups saying even more urgency is needed.

  • April 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. Affirms Telecom Co.'s $13M Union Pension Bill

    The Second Circuit upheld a New York federal court's determination that a telecommunications company owed $13 million in withdrawal liability to a multiemployer pension plan for electrical and contract workers, agreeing Monday with an arbitrator's finding that a construction industry exception didn't apply to the disputed work.

  • April 12, 2024

    Gilstrap Rejects Jury Instruction Tweaks In Samsung Retrial

    U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap on Friday largely denied jury instruction requests made by both Samsung and G+ Communications ahead of a damages retrial in Texas federal court in litigation over wireless network patents, rejecting each company's ideas for limiting what's presented to jurors.

  • April 12, 2024

    FCC Urged To DQ Iconectiv As Number Portability Manager

    The company in charge of the Federal Communications Commision's system for allowing people to switch cell phone providers without losing their number is sister companies with a Voice over Internet Protocol provider — which does not mesh with the agency's neutrality rules, another telecom company is warning.

  • April 12, 2024

    Denver Jury Says Dish Wireless Didn't Flout Cell Tower Lease

    A Denver jury has rejected a telecommunications infrastructure company's claim that Dish Wireless Inc. breached a lease for cell tower sites by failing to pay at least $22 million in extra rent, with jurors reaching a unanimous verdict after eight days of trial.

  • April 12, 2024

    House To Retry Spy Bill After Warrant Measure Fails By 1 Vote

    The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to reauthorize government surveillance of foreigners without warrants, only to have a Florida Republican call for a reconsideration vote for Monday to require warrants for spying on Americans' communications caught up in the surveillance.

  • April 12, 2024

    Critics Blast FCC Call To Raise Net Neutrality 'Ruckus'

    A call by the Democratic chief of the Federal Communications Commission for a public "ruckus" to support reinstating Obama-era net neutrality rules shows why the looming order will likely be overturned in court, opponents of the plan said.

  • April 12, 2024

    ITC To Look Into Motorola's 5G IP Claims Against Ericsson

    Motorola is taking its 5G intellectual property battle with Ericsson to the U.S. International Trade Commission, with the agency agreeing to launch an investigation into Motorola's accusations of patent infringement against the Swedish company.

  • April 12, 2024

    Hytera Says It'll Be A 'Shell' If 7th Circ. Doesn't End Sanctions

    China-based Hytera Communications has again asked the Seventh Circuit to pause a daily $1 million fine, worldwide product sales ban and other "crushing" sanctions an Illinois federal judge imposed for continuing a Chinese intellectual property suit against her orders, saying it will otherwise become "an empty corporate shell."

  • April 12, 2024

    IoT Co. Execs Sued Over Projected Revenue Shortfall

    Executives and directors of Internet of Things services company Lantronix Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit accusing them of misleading investors about its revenue prospects for nearly a year.

  • April 12, 2024

    Make Clear Neutrality Exempts Content Storage, Akamai Says

    Akamai Technologies is asking the FCC to make it crystal clear in the net neutrality orders that are set to be voted on this month that information storing agreements between internet service providers and content delivery networks are still above board.

  • April 11, 2024

    Auto Tech Group Floats Bill To End Abusers' Car Access

    An auto technology group is pressing Congress to pass legislation that would make it easier for domestic violence survivors to cut off abusers' access to vehicles that use advanced wireless connectivity and could be used to track abused partners.

  • April 11, 2024

    FCC Says Satellite Co.'s Dispute With Backer Belongs In Court

    The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday told a satellite company and its financial backer to take their squabble over a withdrawn enforcement petition to court, rejecting BIU LLC's bid to reopen an administrative proceeding first prompted by Spectrum Five.

  • April 11, 2024

    FTC Sends More Refunds To Customers Throttled By AT&T

    The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it was sending out nearly $6.3 million worth of partial refunds to AT&T customers under a 2019 settlement the carrier reached for throttling their unlimited data plans.

  • April 11, 2024

    Pro Sports Leagues Balk At Bally Parent's Ch. 11 Plan

    Three major U.S. professional sports leagues, whose games are broadcast by Bally Sports Network parent company Diamond Sports Group, criticized the company's Chapter 11 restructuring plan, saying it fails to provide information about the debtor's go-forward operating business plan and any ongoing business agreements with distributors.

Expert Analysis

  • Class Action Defense: Don't Give Up On Bristol-Myers Squibb

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    Federal appellate court decisions in the six years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb show that it's anyone's ballgame in class action jurisdictional arguments, so defendants are encouraged to consider carefully whether, where and when arguing lack of specific personal jurisdiction may be advantageous, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Diamond Sports Cases Shed Light On Executory Contracts

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    Recent Texas bankruptcy cases involving telecast fees payable by Diamond Sports to certain Major League Baseball teams provide a window into the dynamic relationship that can develop between debtors and counterparties under some executory contracts, say Joseph Badtke-Berkow and Robin Spigel at Allen & Overy.

  • What To Watch As The FCC Leans Into National Security

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    Information and communications technology and services operators and investors should keep a close eye on the Federal Communications Commission's increasing activity in national security matters, which could slow transactions and subject providers to additional oversight, say David Plotinsky and Patricia Cave at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

  • How Cos. Can Prioritize Accessibility Amid Increase In Suits

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's notice of proposed rulemaking on digital accessibility and recent legal proceedings regarding tester plaintiff standing in accessibility cases show websites and mobile apps are a growing focus, so businesses must proactively ensure digital content complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, say attorneys at Hinckley Allen.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

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    The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

  • Calif. GHG Disclosure Law Will Affect Companies Worldwide

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    California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, which will require comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions disclosures from large companies operating in the state, will mean compliance challenges for a wide range of industries, nationally and globally, as the law's requirements will ultimately trickle out and down, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • New DOJ Roles Underscore National Security Focus

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent creation of two new leadership positions signals to the private sector that federal law enforcement is pouring resources into corporate investigations to identify potential national security violations, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Opinion

    Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

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    The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

  • Opinion

    Forging A Fair Path For Standard-Essential Patents In India

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    The Delhi High Court's standard-essential patents decision in Intex v. Ericsson has the potential to derail important progress for India's technology industry, so Indian regulators and courts should be developing an SEP licensing ecosystem that inspires and protects innovation, say Brian Scarpelli and Priya Nair at ACT.

  • Pa. Autodialer Decision Has Turned TCPA Tides In 3rd Circ.

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    Amid a daunting post-Facebook v. Duguid landscape in the Third Circuit for Telephone Consumer Protection Act defendants, a Pennsylvania district court recently adopted a narrow automatic telephone dialing system definition in Perrong v. Bradford, which is a win for defense counsel, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Lessons From Verizon's Cybersecurity FCA Self-Disclosure

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    A Verizon unit’s recent agreement to settle allegations of cyber-related False Claims Act violations illustrates the interplay between the government's prioritization of cybersecurity enforcement and the potential benefits of voluntarily disclosing cybersecurity failures, says Denise Barnes at Honigman.

  • TikTok Fine Highlights EU Approach To Children's Data Rights

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    Following the Irish Data Protection Commission's recent fine against TikTok for breaching children's data protection rights, organizations should adopt a proactive approach and implement measures aiding compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation, says Carla Murray at Myerson.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Japan

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    Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.

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