Telecommunications

  • March 07, 2024

    House Panel Advances Bills To Ban TikTok, Block Data Sales

    The House Commerce Committee on Thursday unanimously approved a pair of bills targeting national security concerns related to foreign adversaries' access to personal information about Americans, including a measure that would effectively ban TikTok from the U.S. unless it's cut from its Chinese parent company. 

  • March 07, 2024

    Judges Say Facing Threats And Vitriol Now Part Of The Job

    Federal judges spoke Thursday about the challenges of the profession in the 21st century, describing how they've either received threats or know of warnings against colleagues, with one jurist saying she received 11 death threats during her first three months on the bench.

  • March 07, 2024

    New Big Tech 'Gatekeeper' Rules Go Live In Europe

    Apple, Google, Microsoft and other digital "gatekeepers" faced a deadline Thursday to implement changes required by Europe's expansive new regulations aiming to rein in the power of Big Tech through rules intended to promote competition and give consumers more choice.

  • March 07, 2024

    Peru's Telecom Co. Wants $168M Award Suit Tossed

    Peru's state-owned Programa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones has urged a D.C. federal court to set aside an entry of default in litigation to enforce $168 million in arbitral awards issued to a broadband provider, arguing that it has sovereign immunity and wasn't properly served.

  • March 07, 2024

    FCC Opens Probe Into Massive AT&T Outage

    The Federal Communications Commission confirmed Thursday that it has launched what it says will be a "thorough" probe into the massive network outage AT&T suffered last month that left millions of customers without phone service.

  • March 07, 2024

    CenturyLink Cut From Suit Blaming Utilities For Road Delays

    The city of Sammamish, Washington, has quietly dropped CenturyLink from a state court lawsuit accusing it, Comcast and other companies of causing millions of dollars in roadwork delays by failing to move their infrastructure in a timely manner.

  • March 07, 2024

    FTC Extends Telemarketing Fraud Rule To Protect Businesses

    The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday unveiled new initiatives to protect businesses from telemarketing fraud, a move it said will help to protect small businesses from deceptive marketers.

  • March 07, 2024

    Supremacy Clause Bars Wash. Tax On FCC Lifeline Program

    The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday that Assurance Wireless USA does not have to pay a state sales tax on funds it receives from a federal free-phone program, in a unanimous opinion that found the levy violates the constitutional ban on states taxing "instrumentalities" of the federal government.

  • March 07, 2024

    FCC Looking Into Alternatives To New Spectrum Auctions

    The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it will look into ways to use existing legal powers to get more electromagnetic spectrum into the hands of commercial users a year after Congress let the agency's spectrum auction authority lapse.

  • March 06, 2024

    Top Calif. Antitrust Atty Says Criminal Cases On The Horizon

    California is poised to start prosecuting criminal antitrust cases under a Golden State law that is "broader" than federal law, a senior assistant attorney general for the California Department of Justice said Wednesday at a San Francisco conference.

  • March 06, 2024

    Garland On AI Crime, And A Taylor Swift Tune For DOJ

    U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday told a group of lawyers gathered in San Francisco that the U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up its hiring of computer scientists to fight artificial intelligence-driven crime and also revealed which Taylor Swift song he thought should be the department's anthem.

  • March 06, 2024

    Epic's Clash With Apple Over App Store Keeps Simmering

    Epic Games said Wednesday that Apple is flouting new European rules by terminating its developer account and blocking it from launching its own iOS app store, but Apple said it made the move because of Epic's "hotfix" that sparked litigation in the U.S. several years ago.

  • March 06, 2024

    States Expand Privacy Law Patchwork As Shake-Up Looms

    New Jersey and New Hampshire opened 2024 by passing privacy laws that take a largely familiar approach to protecting consumers' personal data, but promising proposals in Maine, Maryland and other states stemming in part from a failed federal effort signal that a new playbook may be on the way.

  • March 06, 2024

    FCC To Explore 'Amnesty' For Rural Deployment Defaults

    The Federal Communications Commission has asked the public for its views on a proposal to release internet service providers from some obligations to deploy rural broadband under FCC subsidy programs so that affected communities can still obtain federal funding.

  • March 06, 2024

    Industry Groups Fight Expanding Digital Discrimination Rules

    Three broadband industry groups want the Federal Communications Commission to pump the brakes on its plans for new digital discrimination oversight requirements, at least until the agency has seen how its controversial and recently passed discrimination rules shake out.

  • March 06, 2024

    Net Neutrality Plan Could Receive FCC Vote By April

    As the cable industry again urged the Federal Communications Commission to scrap a Democratic-led plan to restore net neutrality rules, FCC Republican Brendan Carr signaled Wednesday that the proposal could receive a vote as early as April.

  • March 06, 2024

    Network Biz Investor Challenges Board Removals In Chancery

    An early preferred stockholder of PacketFabric sued the network-as-a-service provider in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Wednesday, requesting an order invalidating what it calls a conflicted board cramdown that converted the investor's preferred shares to common stocks and axed its two seats on the company's board.

  • March 06, 2024

    Sony, ISP File Dueling 4th Circ. Petitions Over $1B Verdict

    Cox Communications Inc. has urged the full Fourth Circuit to reconsider a three-judge panel's decision that the internet service provider is liable for willfully contributing to copyright infringement in a lawsuit from music publishers, arguing the panel's conclusion upholding a jury's finding makes the circuit "the most severe" regime in the country. 

  • March 06, 2024

    PTAB Turns Off Dali Antenna Patent In 2 Texas Cases

    A pair of rulings from an administrative board has gutted the language in a patent covering antenna technology that had been at issue in a web of dismissed lawsuits in Texas.

  • March 06, 2024

    Cruz Wants FCC Subsidy System Turned Over To Congress

    Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday floated a plan to convert the Federal Communications Commission's multibillion-dollar subsidy system for low-income telecom services to direct congressional control, citing spiraling costs.

  • March 06, 2024

    Juniper Networks Sued In Del. For Details On $14B HP Sale

    Leaders of artificial intelligence networking platform Juniper Networks Inc. are breaching their duties to stockholders by withholding material information about the company's recently announced $14 billion acquisition by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., a Juniper shareholder alleged Wednesday in a Delaware Court of Chancery complaint.

  • March 05, 2024

    Google Keeps Win In 'Lockbox' Privacy Suit At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday refused to revive a proposed class action alleging that Google's "Lockbox" program secretly collected information about Android owners' non-Google app use, saying Google clearly disclosed in its privacy policy that it tracks activity in third-party apps.

  • March 05, 2024

    Judges Unsure On Atty Sanctions In Robinhood Spam Suit

    Class counsel sanctioned $750,000 for helping instigate a spam text suit against Robinhood Financial likely engaged in "shenanigans," a Washington appeals judge said Tuesday, though a colleague on the bench questioned whether those sanctions should stick if Robinhood was nevertheless liable in the case.

  • March 05, 2024

    App Store Users Tell 9th Circ. To Reject Class Cert. Appeal

    Consumers pressed the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to not take up Apple's appeal of the certification of millions of App Store users, arguing the class action raises none of the issues justifying immediate intervention before trial on allegations targeting the technology giant's iron grip over app distribution on iPhones.

  • March 05, 2024

    UPS, AT&T Can't Avoid ESG Proxy Proposals, But BofA Can

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff have indicated they won't let UPS and AT&T get out of including shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters from their upcoming proxy statements, while letting Bank of America exclude two ESG-related proposals.

Expert Analysis

  • Strike Force Actions Underscore Foreign Risks For Tech Cos.

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    As recent prosecutions demonstrate, a multiagency strike force is ramping up enforcement of trade secret theft and export control violations, and companies will need to be proactive in protecting their sensitive technologies from foreign adversaries, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

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    As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Perspectives

    A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial

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    Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.

  • What Patent Bills Would Mean For Infringement Litigation

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    Attorneys at Farella Braun summarize a pair of recently introduced patent bills — one that would reform patent eligibility and another that would change procedures for litigating patent invalidity — and explore the potential impact of each.

  • How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

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    Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

  • EU Case Shows Wide Approach To Blocking Telecom Mergers

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    The EU court's recent judgment in Commission v. CK Telecoms may make it more challenging to secure clearance for telecom and other companies pursuing mergers, illustrating its broad approach to mergers that risk harming competition without creating a dominant position, say Dominic Long and Christopher Best at Allen & Overy.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

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    Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Parsing Through The FTC's Proposed Health Privacy Updates

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recently proposed updates to its Health Breach Notification Rule contain subtle but significant changes to key terms that help modernize the agency's health app regulation and provide stakeholders an important opportunity to help shape the future of virtual health care, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • 3 Service Provider Considerations For NTIA Broadband Fund

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    Internet service providers seeking funding through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's broadband deployment program should begin in earnest identifying areas of interest for funding and challenges so that they are prepared to submit initial proposals before the December deadline, say ​​​​​​​attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Regulating AI: Litigation Questions And State Efforts To Watch

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    In view of the developing legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence systems in the U.S., including state legislation and early federal litigation, there are practical takeaways as we look toward the future, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts

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    The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Perspectives

    Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

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    Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

  • The Case For Quantifying The Impact Of 'Dark Patterns'

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    Recent lawsuits alleging that Amazon and Audible used so-called dark patterns to deceive customers show that federal agencies and consumers are actively challenging such conduct, and quantifying its impact on purchase decisions is an important step toward using an evidence-based approach for determining the appropriate level of deterrence, say economists at Brattle.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

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