Two recent decisions clear up the issue of when an advertiser can be held legally responsible under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for the illegal acts of its representatives.
On June 13, 2012, Senator John D. Rockefeller introduced a bill in the United States Senate that, if passed, would be called the Fair Telephone Billing Act of 2012. The bill's official title is "a bill to prohibit unauthorized third-party charges on wire line telephone bills, and for other purposes."
Google and co-defendant Slide, Inc. will have to defend a class-action lawsuit in the Northern District of California after Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied a motion to dismiss based on First Amendment grounds.
The FCC recently published a proposed rule that would amend the FCC's Truth-in-Billing rules.
On August 10, 2011, Badie Jaber, a California resident, filed a class action lawsuit against NASCAR alleging she received an unsolicited text message from the auto racing federation.
On June 16, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") issued an Enforcement Advisory on cramming after announcing four Notices of Apparent Liability.
Gutierrez v. Barclays Group is a class action filed in federal court in the Southern District of California under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. 227).
On May 11, 2011 the FTC will host a forum in Washington DC to examine how the government, businesses, and consumer protection organizations can work together to prevent consumers from being hit with unauthorized third-party charges on their phone bills, a practice known as "cramming."
Following on the heels of increased class action activity, state legislatures are increasing the focus on attacking allegations of cramming.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has reached an agreement with T-Mobile concerning unauthorized billing for third-party charges on consumers' mobile phone bills.
A recent federal court ruling in the Southern District of New York was a blow to plaintiffs who seek to sue telemarketers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA").
By Frank Hernandez*
SMS text message marketers beware.
A panel of lawyers discussed important issues for every mobile marketer during the "Legal Dos and Don'ts" panel at Mobile Marketing Day, hosted last week by Mobile Marketer and the Direct Marketing Association.
In August 2009, the Federal Communications Commission launched a sweeping inquiry into the mobile industry and its practices that could result in new regulations impacting the wireless marketplace.
To deal with the growing problem of identity theft, the Federal Trade Commission last year, working with other federal agencies, jointly issued regulations called the "Red Flag Rules", which are now in effect.
The Federal Trade Commission announced that it will suspend enforcement of the new "Red Flags Rule" until May 1, 2009, to give creditors and financial institutions additional time in which to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs.
Integretel's recent filing of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy action in the Northern District of California has stunned many experienced telecom players. Integretel acts as a billing aggregator for telecommunications service providers to provide LEC billing support functions.