The incoming Republican administration and Congress will likely work at rolling back many of the current FCC’s policies through a combination of agency action, court decisions and the Congressional Review Act (CRA), attorneys and analysts told us in interviews. The CRA's threat also will likely limit the current FCC's agenda, they said. “The CRA is kind of looming over anything the FCC wants to try to do before the administration switches over,” said Jeffrey Westling, American Action Forum director-technology and innovation.
Incarcerated people's communications services (IPCS) providers and public interest groups urged the FCC to revise its proposed rules on rate caps for video IPCS (see 2409200019). Commissioners adopted the Further NPRM in July along with an order lowering rates for audio IPCS and establishing interim rate caps for video IPCS. Providers opposed establishing service quality standards and expanding the definition of a correctional facility in comments posted Tuesday in docket 23-62. Public interest groups sought additional data, allowing more refinement of interim rate caps.
Global Tel*Link's ViaPath asked the FCC to issue an enforcement advisory following an apparent letter another incarcerated people's communications service (IPCS) provider sent to correctional facilities. The letter said the commission's new rules have no effect on the provider's operations because its "application-based services" aren't provided on a per-minute basis (see 2407180039). ViaPath said in a letter Wednesday in docket 23-62 that the "misinformation may also have been circulated to correctional facility customers who are served by other IPCS providers." ViaPath said it "cannot be understated the degree of chaos and confusion being created in the IPCS marketplace by the inaccurate interpretation of the order." The company sought an enforcement advisory clarifying that the rules apply to "all services meeting the revised definition of IPCS regardless of technology, device or transmission format used."
Global Tel-Link charged incarcerated and nonincarcerated persons rates in excess of the contract rates for certain electronic communication services in West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (WVDCR) facilities, alleged a fraud class action Thursday (docket 1:24-cv-00827) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia in Alexandria.
The FTC will require Global Tel-Link, a provider of inmate communications services, and two of its subsidiaries to notify consumers of any future data breaches “as part of a proposed settlement over charges they failed to secure sensitive data of hundreds of thousands of users stored in a cloud environment,” said the agency Thursday. The commission also alleges that GTL and the subsidiaries “failed to alert all those affected by the incident.” The FTC’s complaint alleges GTL and the subsidiaries “failed to implement adequate security safeguards to protect personal information they collect from users of its services,” it said. That enabled bad actors “to gain access to unencrypted personal information stored in the cloud and used for testing,” it said. The complaint alleges GTL and the subsidiaries violated Section 5(a) of the FTC Act when they made numerous false and deceptive promises to protect the sensitive personally identifiable information that they collect in connection with offering their products and services. The companies then failed to provide timely notice to affected consumers so that they could take steps to protect themselves from identity theft, the FTC said. They also made multiple misleading representations about the data security incident. As part of a proposed order with the FTC, GTL and the subsidiaries will be required to implement a “comprehensive data security program” to prevent future breaches, said the agency. The companies also will need to notify users of its products affected by the data breach who didn’t previously receive notice, and provide them with credit monitoring and identity protection products, it said.
Providers of incarcerated peoples communications services and advocacy organizations welcomed the FCC's efforts to further collect information through the third mandatory data collection (MDC) to establish permanent rates in comments posted Monday in docket 12-375. Most sought minor changes, but disagreed on the granularity of data that should be collected.
Allegations that “productive” negotiations between Smart Communications and York County, Pennsylvania, “fizzled out” after derogatory comments from rival Global Tel-Link “are more than sufficient to satisfy the fifth element of the tort,” said plaintiff/appellant Smart in a Wednesday reply brief (docket 22-3287) in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Smart is appealing the Nov. 1 decision of the U.S. District Court for Middle Pennsylvania in Harrisburg to dismiss Smart’s antitrust lawsuit against Global Tel-Link for failure to state a claim. In her Nov. 1 memorandum, Judge Jennifer Wilson compared Smart’s cross-referencing of counts in the unfair competition claim to a “potentially endless loop of circular logic" reminiscent of actor Wallace Shawn’s monologue “analyzing how to determine the poisoned goblet” in the film A Princess Bride. In its reply brief, Smart said whether its unfair competition claim was “duplicative” of its tortious interference claim “is of no moment.” A party is allowed “to assert multiple claims based on the same facts -- indeed, it must do so to avoid res judicata.” Smart alleged Global Tel-Link defamed it by telling York County officials if the prison replaced its phone equipment with Smarts’, it would exercise its right to seize Smarts’ equipment based on a judgment it had against a company from which Smart acquired licensing rights. The plaintiff also said Global Tel-Link told county officials Smart was infringing its patents and Global would sue Smart and obtain an injunction to prohibit it from providing services that were part of its proposal. “Both are actionable statements,” Smart said. The 3rd Circuit should reverse the district court’s dismissal of counts I (violation of the Sherman Act), II (tortious interference) and III (unfair competition) of the complaint and remand for further proceedings, Smart said.
Plaintiff Aaron Williams is seeking an order to compel Verizon to produce the names of subscribers associated with phone numbers that are part of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action against online pharmacy PillPack, said a Thursday motion to compel (docket 3:23-mc-00006) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Trenton.
Appellant Global Tel-Link’s opening brief is due March 6 in its appeal of a lower court’s antitrust ruling in Smart Communications’ favor, said a briefing and scheduling order Tuesday (docket 22-3287) in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Smart alleges competitor GTL colluded with York County, Pennsylvania, prison authorities in an unlawful "exclusive dealing" arrangement when Smart tried to replace GTL as the prison's inmate calling services vendor (see 2212070047).
The 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday docketed the appeal (docket 1:20-cv-00186) of Smart Communications that seeks to vacate the Nov. 1 memorandum of U.S. District Judge Jennifer Wilson for Middle Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, granting the motions of Global Tel-Link (GTL) and other defendants to dismiss Smart's antitrust complaint. Smart alleged competitor GTL colluded with the York County, Pennsylvania, prison and its warden, Adam Ogle, in an unlawful "exclusive dealing" arrangement when Smart tried to replace GTL as the prison's vendor for inmate calling services. The prison and Ogle were named as GTL's co-defendants. The case was listed for possible dismissal due to a “jurisdictional defect,” said the 3rd Circuit clerk in an order Monday.