In 2010, AT&T dropped its “unlimited” mobile data plans in favor of tiered pricing but grandfathered in existing customers. Well, sort of. By 2011, AT&T began “data throttling” unlimited data plan users who exceeded preset data limits regardless of actual network congestion. AT&T made some limited disclosures of this practice, but it did not inform…
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposed Restoring Internet Freedom (RIF) Order which will repeal the Open Internet Order (Net Neutrality Rules) adopted by the FCC in 2015 and then some. You can watch the vote starting at 7:30 a.m. PST / 10:30 am EST here. It is important to remember that…
Why FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is CLBR’s Zero of the Year For the past several years, the web radio program I host (Cyber Law & Business Report) has had a year-end “Heroes and Zeros” show in which we assemble a panel to highlight those doing wonderful things on the internet and those deserving a cyber…
Last fall, the Federal Communications Commission approved new privacy rules governing ISPs in a 3-2 party-line vote. Then-FCC Chairman Wheeler stressed It is the consumer’s information. It is not the information of the network the consumer hires to deliver that information. The consumer has the right to make a decision about how her or his information is…
In pushing through new privacy rules governing ISPs, FCC Chairman Wheeler stressed It is the consumer’s information. It is not the information of the network the consumer hires to deliver that information. The consumer has the right to make a decision about how her or his information is used. Opt-In v Opt-Out The new rules,…
In a 2-1 opinion, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Federal Communications Commission Open Internet Order with Judges Tatel and Srinivan for the Majority and Judge Williams in dissent. The court issued a 115-page decision with a 69-page dissent. We will have a summary posted shortly. FCC Chairman Wheeler issued the following statement…
A coalition that includes Reddit, Yelp, Kickstarter, Etsy, Medium, Meetup, and Foursquare, among many others, along with digital and consumer advocacy groups, including Common Cause, Engine, and Fight for the Future, are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to examine whether zero-rating plans which exempt particular services from carrier data caps violates the FCC’s Net…
FCC Launches Privacy Rulemaking A proposal to commence rulemaking on internet service providers’ privacy obligations was approved 3-2 by the Federal Communications Commission last week. FCC Chairman Wheeler explained that the rules were needed because A consumer’s relationship with her ISP is very different than the one she has with a website or app. Consumers…
FCC Denies Petition to Implement Do Not Track Invoking the Federal Communications Commissions Net Neutrality order, Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog petitioned the FCC to “initiate a rulemaking proceeding requiring ‘edge providers’ (like Google, Facebook, YouTube, Pandora, Netflix, and LinkedIn) to honor ‘Do Not Track’ Requests from consumers.” The FCC declined the invitation, explaining that in…
FCC’s Historic Day: Net Neutrality and Muni-Broadband Protection As expected, on February 26, 2015 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 in favor of adopting net neutrality rules under its Title II authority. For a detailed background on the issue check out our prior post Net Neutrality Timeline: How We Got Here and my discussion of the…
Today is the last day to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on its proposed rule making on Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet (GN Docket No. 14-28). Nearly 700,000 Americans have done so to date, mine is below. When the Net Neutrality debate first emerged, critics dismissed the concept as a…
Segment 1: NEWS UPDATE FROM CYBER REPORT Background News Update (1) JOHN DOZIER (1956-2012) Internet Lawyer and Pioneer, Bull Dog, Virginian . . . However, you knew him, he died much too soon on August 6th. He gave a great deal to the legal profession and was the driving force in launching a Cyber Law Bar…
FCC Offers Voluntary Cyber Security Guidelines The Federal Communications Commission’s Communications, Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) released its initial recommendations addressing cyber security threats in commercial networks. CSRIC recommended that ISPs (i) adopt an Anti-Bot Code of Conduct that would help detect and remediate bots; (ii) take the first steps towards implementation of DNSSEC secure…
From 9/21 Cyber Report The FCC has announced that it will issues rules formalizing its 2005 Policy Statement on Internet Neutrality. The Commission used these principles to find that Comsat improperly blocked traffic from peer-to-peer sites, but Comsat is appealing this ruling claiming the principles were not binding. The proposed rules will also include a…
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