Telecommunications

  • October 09, 2024

    AT&T Fights Phone 'Unlocking' Rules Floated At FCC

    AT&T called on the Federal Communications Commission to abandon plans to require the "unlocking" of cellphones after 60 days to let customers switch carriers, saying wireless competition is already "fierce" and the FCC's plan would only hurt consumers.

  • October 09, 2024

    NY Tribe Urges Court To Keep Door Open On 911 Lawsuit

    The Cayuga Nation is fighting a bid by two New York counties to dismiss its lawsuit over their alleged refusals to forward 911 calls to tribal police, arguing that on its face, it's hard to deny that something is amiss in the municipalities' efforts to ensure its reservation members' protection.

  • October 09, 2024

    Settlement Ends Suit Over 'Unwanted' Insurance Agency Calls

    A Georgia-based insurance agency has reached a settlement with a proposed class that accused it of making "aggressive" telemarketing calls to seniors advertising final expense and life insurance products despite the seniors' requests that the calls stop or their status on the national do-not-call list.

  • October 08, 2024

    FCC Chair Denounces Fla. Officials' Threat Over Abortion Ads

    The head of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday blasted Florida officials for suggesting broadcast stations could be unlawfully airing ad claims by an abortion rights group.

  • October 08, 2024

    House Panel Probes FCC's Revoking Starlink's $885M Subsidy

    The Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee is investigating the Federal Communications Commission's 2022 decision to pull an $885.5 million broadband subsidy for SpaceX's Starlink, calling the Elon Musk-owned satellite internet company an asset in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and accusing the agency of "partisanship," in a new letter Monday.

  • October 08, 2024

    Congress Urged To Prevent Stalking Via Smart Car

    An auto technology trade group asked congressional leaders Tuesday to push through legislation that would allow car connectivity services to cut access to domestic abusers.

  • October 08, 2024

    FuboTV Rips Fox Attempt To Transfer Sports Streaming Fight

    Fox wants the New York federal judge overseeing the lawsuit accusing it, ESPN and Warner Bros. of trying to run a rival out of business with a joint sports streaming venture to lop off the claims against it and ship them to California, but plaintiff FuboTV says Fox is trying to "forum shop mid-case."

  • October 08, 2024

    Broadband Study No Longer Justifies New Rules, Group Says

    The end of Chevron deference to agencies means the Federal Communications Commission can no longer use an annual report on the state of broadband deployment to claim new regulatory powers, a free-market group has argued.

  • October 08, 2024

    9th Circ. Affirms Atty Fee Reduction In Cathode Suit

    A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld a lower court's decision to cut more than $2 million from plaintiff's firm Cooper & Kirkham's $3.45 million fee award in a multidistrict litigation settlement over alleged cathode ray tube price-fixing litigation.

  • October 08, 2024

    AGs Slam TikTok With Youth Addiction, Fraud Claims

    More than a dozen states have sued TikTok, alleging the popular social media platform targets young users and manipulates them into becoming habitual users while downplaying the harmful effects it can have on mental health and development.

  • October 07, 2024

    FTC's Amazon Monopolization Suit Largely Survives Dismissal

    The bulk of the Federal Trade Commission's landmark monopolization case against Amazon will go forward, a Washington federal judge held in a recently unsealed opinion that trimmed only a few state-law claims from the 20-count antitrust complaint challenging the retail giant's pricing practices.

  • October 07, 2024

    FCC Needs To 'Harmonize' Cybersecurity, Mobile Group Says

    A key wireless industry group has urged the Federal Communications Commission to ensure the network cybersecurity plans required by the agency's recent 5G Fund order are applied evenly across all its deployment funding programs.

  • October 07, 2024

    Media Group Wants FCC Republicans To Release Political Info

    A media advocacy group is seeking a trove of information from the Federal Communications Commission's two Republicans regarding the group's challenge to Fox TV's Philadelphia license renewal after the airing of election falsehoods in 2020.

  • October 07, 2024

    Feds Face Biggest Test Yet In Madigan Probe: Mike Madigan

    The man who was once Illinois' most influential politician heads to Chicago federal court this week to stand trial on charges that he led a criminal enterprise for nearly a decade, amassing power and benefits for himself, his law firm and his allies. The stakes for prosecutors are higher than ever as they face the elected official at the center of their Illinois corruption probe.

  • October 07, 2024

    T-Mobile Contractor's $27M Phone Order Suit Gets Cancelled

    A Washington federal judge has again thrown out a mobile phone manufacturer's $27 million lawsuit accusing T-Mobile of reneging on purchase orders — this time, for good — ruling the company's revised claims are still at odds with the carrier's contractual right to cancel.   

  • October 07, 2024

    Apple Doesn't Infringe Digital Identity Patents, Jury Finds

    A federal jury in Austin, Texas, has rejected a $361 million patent case from a longtime ExxonMobil employee who had targeted in-house cybersecurity hardware used in Apple iPhones.

  • October 07, 2024

    Ex-CEO Of Tribal Telecom Co. Indicted For $500K Fund Theft

    A former executive with a telecommunications company owned by the Yurok Tribe has been indicted by a San Francisco federal grand jury on charges she embezzled more than $500,000 from the tribe.

  • October 07, 2024

    SpaceX, T-Mobile Can Offer Service In Helene-Ravaged Areas

    SpaceX and T-Mobile gained special temporary authority from the Federal Communications Commission to launch their plan for cellular coverage from space in the areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

  • October 07, 2024

    Mich. Judges Ask If 'Deplorable' Robocalls Actually Criminal

    A Michigan appeals court panel is considering for a second time whether two conservative activists can be criminally prosecuted for running a misinformation campaign that one judge on Monday called "deplorable," after the state Supreme Court narrowed the reach of the law they were charged with violating. 

  • October 07, 2024

    FCC Looks To Update Satellite Spectrum Sharing Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission is working on new spectrum sharing rules for non-geostationary orbit fixed-satellite systems, saying the proposal will clarify details from a 2023 order requiring systems to work with each other to prevent signal interference.

  • October 07, 2024

    Epic Judge Orders Google To Let Rivals Set Up App Stores

    A California federal judge on Monday ordered Google to offer third-party options for downloading apps on Android phones, banned it from offering companies financial incentives to discourage competition with Google Play and blocked it from signing developer deals to have an app launch first or exclusively in its app store.

  • October 07, 2024

    Don't Overdo School Wi-Fi Lending Restrictions, FCC Told

    An educational nonprofit and school broadband provider are asking the Federal Communications Commission for flexibility in how anchor institutions such as public libraries, colleges and nonprofits can use federal funds to loan out Wi-Fi hot spots off premises.

  • October 07, 2024

    Apple, Amazon Urge Sanctions For Absent Antitrust Plaintiff

    A no-show named plaintiff should be sanctioned for ignoring discovery obligations in a putative antitrust class action over Apple and Amazon's third-party vendor restrictions for iPhone and iPad sales, the two tech giants have told a Washington federal judge.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Feds' Warrant On Trump's Twitter DMs

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a court order that allowed special counsel Jack Smith to obtain messages from Donald Trump's account on the X social media platform while barring X Corp. from alerting the former president beforehand.

  • October 04, 2024

    Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.

Expert Analysis

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Nat'l Security Considerations For Telecom Products Counsel

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    An increase in federal national security measures in the telecommunications space, particularly from the Federal Communications Commission, means that products counsel need to broaden their considerations as they advise on new products and services, says Laura Stefani at Venable.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • 7th Circ. Motorola Ruling Raises Stakes Of DTSA Litigation

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Motorola v. Hytera gives plaintiffs a powerful tool to recover damages, greatly increasing the incentive to bring Defend Trade Secrets Act claims against defendants with large global sales because those sales could generate large settlements, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Challenging Prosecutors' Use Of Defendants' Jail Phone Calls

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    Although it’s an uphill battle under current case law, counsel for pretrial detainees may be able to challenge prosecutors’ use of jail-recorded phone calls between the defendant and their attorney by taking certain advance measures, say Jim McLoughlin and Fielding Huseth at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • A Refresher On Calculating Political Advertising Costs

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    With election season well underway, it is important for broadcasters, political candidates, time buyers and others concerned with how the cost of broadcast political advertising is determined to know what the Federal Communications Commission factors into lowest unit calculations, and how the commission has defined "commercial advertisers," says Gregg Skall at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Opinion

    Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation

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    Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

  • Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window

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    In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FCC And Industry Must Prepare For Change

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    The Chevron doctrine was especially significant in the communications sector because of the indeterminacy of federal communications statutes, so the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the doctrine could have big implications for those regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, bringing both opportunities and risks for companies, say Thomas Johnson and Michael Showalter at Wiley.

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