TMT Law Watch : Washington, DC Telecom & Technology Attorneys & Lawyers : K&L Gates Law Firm

By Nickolas Milonas and Marc Martin

The Federal Trade Commission recently released guidance on its December 2012 updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).  COPPA regulates the collection and use by website operators and application developers of personal information from children under the age of 13.  COPPA also requires website operators and application developers to obtain parental consent before collecting a child’s personal information.  The guidance touches upon several issues, including geolocation data; services directed towards children vs. mixed-audience services; parental access to children’s personal information; and disclosure of information to third parties.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Frank J. Schweitzer, Barton J. Gordon, and William A. Kirk

The United States and the European Union are set to launch negotiations this summer on a comprehensive agreement covering cross-Atlantic trade and investment known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). In March, the Administration notified Congress that the President would initiate the TTIP negotiations, which will encompass a broad range of issues covering rules and disciplines related to cross-border trade in services, investment, telecommunications, electronic commerce, information and communication technology services, regulatory coherence, competition, technical barriers to trade, transparency, and intellectual property, among many others.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By J. Bradford Currier, Marc Martin, and Matt Morley

Companies may use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to announce key corporate information so long as investors are alerted in advance about which platforms will be used, according to a recent report issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Marty Stern

With Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commissioner Robert McDowell announcing their departures, we have received many questions on the terms and tenures of the FCC Commissioners. Here, we provide in one place, a “TMT Cheat Sheet” that will help you fill your own brackets for the FCC Commissioners.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Brian McCalmon and J. Bradford Currier

The Federal Trade Commission has updated its primary business guidance for online advertising, “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising.” The update to the guidance, which had not been revised since 2000, addresses the emergence of new electronic media and communications protocols over the last 13 years and compliance with the FTC Act’s requirement that ads be truthful and not misleading, adequately substantiated, and not unfair. Each of these mandates can require the disclosure of qualifying information in a manner that the FTC intends to be “clear and conspicuous” – i.e., easily accessed and understood by the consumer.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By J. Bradford Currier and Nickolas Milonas

The ban on unlocking cell phones to enable their use on different wireless networks announced late last year may be reconsidered following recent criticism of the rule by the White House and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. As we discussed here previously, the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress announced the ban as part of its triennial review of the copyright exemptions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which eliminated an exemption for unlocking devices in place since 2006. Under the new rule, devices purchased before January 26, 2013 can still be unlocked by users, but devices bought after that date can be unlocked only with the carrier’s permission, even after the service contract expired.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Nickolas Milonas and Marty Stern

The D.C. Circuit recently upheld a 2011 Federal Communications Commission report and order amending its pole attachment rules, unanimously rejecting a challenge to the new rules by a number of electric utilities.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Nickolas Milonas and Marc Martin

Earlier this week, Apple agreed to settle a class action lawsuit regarding so-called “bait apps”—mobile apps directed towards children, which are free to download but then charge for in-app purchases. Under the terms of the settlement, Apple agreed to issue $5 in iTunes credit to affected customers. If customers racked up more than $5 in in-app charges, Apple will issue up to $30 in iTunes credit. Apple will issue cash refunds for accounts that spent more than $30.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

It has been a year since Congress created FirstNet, a federal authority within NTIA tasked with building a $7 billion nationwide wireless public safety broadband network. With its board already appointed, FirstNet has begun planning, designing, and developing the public safety network, supported by a $121.5 million grant program to staff and implement state and local government planning and coordination activities. However, important issues remain involving FirstNet’s deployment strategy, potential network partners, procurement approach, and the complex task of leveraging resources and facilities from state and local governments, wireless carriers, utilities, and others. In addition, the availability of future funding for FirstNet’s $7 billion price tag is tied to the success of the FCC’s recapture and repacking of television broadcast spectrum and sufficient proceeds from the auction of broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband use. 

These issues and others will be examined in a live webcast carried on Broadband US TV from 1:00-2:30 pm (ET) on March 1, 2013, entitled “FirstNet:A Year Later - Understanding the $7 Billion Opportunity . . . and Challenges.” Co-hosts Marty Stern of K&L Gates and Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group will be joined by Laura Pettus, Program Manager, NTIA Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program, and an expert panel featuring Dr. Andrew Afflerbach, CEO/Director of Engineering - CTC Technology & Energy; Jeff Cohen, Chief Counsel, Law and Policy, APCO International; Martha Duggan, Senior Principal, Regulatory Affairs, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; and Michael Hardiman, Director, Mission Critical Broadband Solutions, Alcatel-Lucent.

You can access the webcast here (free registration required).

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Nick Milonas

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to free up spectrum in the 5MHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use. With this step, the FCC hopes to accelerate the growth and expansion of new high-speed Wi-Fi services, while reducing Wi-Fi congestion in the home and in public locations.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Nick Milonas, Marc Martin, and Marty Stern

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved a new set of rules intended to facilitate deployment of wireless signal boosters by consumers and businesses, while avoiding potentially disruptive interference to mobile networks. Signal boosters are used to amplify signal strength between wireless devices and wireless networks. Their increased use raised interference concerns for wireless networks, which are addressed through new interference safeguards that manufacturers will be required to incorporate into boosters. Nationwide carriers, along with regional and rural carriers, support the new rules—provided that the boosters comply with the technical specifications designed to prevent interference.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Nickolas Milonas, Marc Martin, and Paul Stimers

In the wake of recent cyber attacks on US banks, newspapers, and government agencies, President Obama signed an executive order to strengthen the nation’s cyber defenses and protect its critical infrastructure. The President announced the executive order during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, noting the order aims to increase “information sharing” between government and industry and to develop “standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy.”

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By Nickolas Milonas, Marc Martin, and David Tallman

In a trio of recent data privacy developments, the FTC published mobile data policy recommendations, Path settled an FTC action regarding allegedly unlawful data collection, and Facebook will now tell users which ads are tracking their online activity.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

By J. Bradford Currier and Marc Martin

In a move likely to further disrupt the voice services market, Facebook recently announced that it will offer free calls via Wi-Fi for users of its Messenger app on Apple devices in the United States. The Messenger calling feature, tested in Canadian markets earlier this month, allows users to “call” their Facebook friends who have installed the Messenger app and linked their mobile number with Facebook by clicking their contact information. While data charges will still apply for Messenger calls made over a wireless carrier’s 4G or 3G network, there will be no separate charge for calls made over a device connected to the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection. Facebook’s announcement marks another example of the growing trend of using mobile apps to end-run traditional public switched telephone network (“PSTN”)-based voice services.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks