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On July 24, 2023, an en banc Eleventh Circuit joined the majority of circuits to find that just one text is sufficient to establish standing to bring a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) claim. The decision, Drazen v. Pinto, — F.4th —, 2023 WL 4699939 (11th Cir. July 24, 2023), not only undoes the panel’s original holding, but also reverses course from the Eleventh Circuit’s prior decision in Salcedo v. Hanna, 936 F.3d 1162 (11th Cir. 2019), which held that a Plaintiff who received a single text message did not have TCPA standing.  Continue Reading The First Text Cuts the Deepest: Eleventh Circuit Aligns with Other Circuits on TCPA Standing

On December 15, 2016, in The Travelers Indemnity Co. of Connecticut v. Max Margulis, et al., the U.S.  District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that an insurer did not have a duty to defend its policyholder in a suit alleging a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Margulis …

Discussion headlines:  New guidelines for IoT; Russia blocks access to LinkedIn; Standing under the TCPA; Long distance search warrant power

The DHS and NIST Release Guidelines for the IoT

This week, both the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology released a set of guidelines intended to secure the IoT. …

A victory for net neutrality; U.S. may join Irish Facebook Data-Transfer case; EU-U.S. Privacy Shield by early July?; French Data Protection Authority opens GDPR consultation; FTC addresses proposed TCPA changes; DOJ and DHS cybersecurity sharing guidelines.

Federal appellate court upholds net neutrality

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld “net neutrality” rules that require all broadband providers to treat internet traffic the same regardless of source.  Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued its net neutrality decision, which reclassified broadband service as common carriers under the Communications Act and thus brought Internet service within the FCC’s power to regulate common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.  The FCC then issued rules banning providers from blocking, throttling, or otherwise degrading internet traffic lawful content, and also from engaging in paid prioritization of traffic.

A number of Internet service providers and other groups challenged the FCC’s authority to reclassify broadband service and promulgate such regulations. They also challenged the legality of the net neutrality rules.  In a 115-page opinion, the D.C. Circuit rejected each challenge and, in doing so, affirmed the FCC’s power to regulate broadband service under Title II of the Communications Act.  The court also rejected the argument that net neutrality impacts service providers’ First Amendment rights, explaining that a service provider “does not . . . ‘speak’ when providing neutral access to Internet content as common usage.”

The petitioners are expected to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Unless the Court reverses this ruling, the FCC retains broad power to regulate Internet service providers as common carriers, and may use that power to continue implementing and enforcing regulations concerning open access to content as well as consumer privacy.Continue Reading Privacy & Cybersecurity Weekly News Update- Week of June 13