The Supreme Court sided with Facebook in a case that could narrow the number of lawsuits filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The court reversed and remanded an earlier decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had found that any device that stores and automatically dials phone numbers can be considered an automatic telephone dialing system under the TCPA. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a united high court in the long-awaited decision in Facebook v. Duguid.
The FCC is mulling a requirement that the 988 national suicide prevention hotline be reachable by text. The agency said a Further NPRM on the April 22 agenda would propose requiring text providers to implement texting to 988.
Frontier Communications got its final regulatory OK to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 at its Thursday virtual meeting to clear the proposed reorganization with conditions.
President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 budget reconciliation package (HR-1319) Thursday, a day earlier than expected. Biden’s signoff formally allocates some $7-plus billion for emergency E-rate remote learning, along with additional amounts for state-level broadband projects and emergency CPB funding.
Virginia looks set to become the second state, after California, with a comprehensive privacy law. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the Consumer Data Protection Act into law, the legislature's website showed Tuesday evening. The action was widely expected but the governor's office hadn't commented on whether he would give his OK. The bill is SB-1392.
FCC members unanimously approved an emergency broadband benefit program order earlier Thursday, the agency announced tonight. This paves the way for the $3.2 billion program to give "qualifying households discounts on their internet service bills and an opportunity to receive a discount on a computer or tablet."
FCC members approved an emergency broadband benefit program order 4-0 earlier Thursday, the agency announced tonight. In their statements about the item, commissioners revealed some of the document's details.
Verizon dominated the record-setting C-band auction with $45.4 billion in bids, almost twice the $23.4 billion bid by AT&T, the FCC announced. T-Mobile was third at $9.3 billion, as it further buttressed its midband holdings. UScellular bid $1.3 billion. The auction started Dec. 8 and closed Feb. 17 at $81.2 billion after the assignment phase. That doesn’t include roughly $13 billion in accelerated clearing payments. The FCC sold all 5,684 spectrum blocks up for bid.
Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated for a vote at the March 17 commissioners’ meeting a draft order launching an October auction of the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for 5G. She also circulated a draft public notice on bidding procedures.
A federal judge denied preliminary injunction for ISP associations against California’s net neutrality law at a teleconferenced Tuesday hearing at the U.S. District Court in Sacramento. The comments came following industry and government arguments. See our news report here.