Appeals Court Net Neutrality Review: Mixed Bag

While validating much of the FCC’s Internet regulation mechanisms, pre-emption and public safety schemes didn’t pass the court’s muster.
With all the presidential drama in Washington of late, it’s often easy to overlook the fact that other government activities are unfolding along much more traditional lines. Such is the case with Net neutrality. A new (but certainly not a final) chapter in this story was released late last month when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited decision on the appeal of the FCC’s “Restoring Internet Freedom” order (in my opinion, inappropriately named as it does anything but!).

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Privacy by Degree

Some thoughts on privacy rights in the U.S., and the implications of impending privacy legislation.
Early this month, I had the opportunity to participate in continuing legal education on the future of privacy and privacy law. As I prepared to listen and learn, I wasn’t expecting to be jarred by an issue that, in all honesty (and said with a bit of guilt), had never crossed my mind. That is: Privacy isn’t a right in the U.S., and your position in society says a great deal about how much actual privacy you have.

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The Not-So-Private Elevator

Next time you’re in an elevator, be advised that someone – besides building security and fellow elevator riders – might be listening.  
A recent Wired article exposed the hidden world of elevator phreaking. By calling an unsecured elevator phone, a third party can expose a person, and potentially an enterprise, to a major security and privacy risk. Since elevator phones doesn’t require anyone to pick up the phone to open the circuit, a third party can make a call and be connected – allowing them to eavesdrop on conversations happening inside the elevator. Given the competitive nature of industries like banking and technology, it isn’t completely unthinkable for a hacker to eavesdrop this way.

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GDPR: A Boring but Important Update

On July 9, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) -- the highest court in Europe -- heard arguments challenging the validity of two key elements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect in May 2018: standard contractual clauses (SCC) and the Privacy Shield framework.

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Intermediate Network Woes: A Tale of Mobile Disconnect

Called on to help figure out why mobile calls weren’t reaching my client’s customers, I ultimately turned to the FCC.
 A savvy client of mine who sells hosted VoIP services recently called me with a serious problem. Calls made to my client’s customers from some mobile devices supported by two wireless providers suddenly -- and devastatingly -- weren’t completing. Calls completed, and then suddenly stopped working. The callers got either fast busy signals or ring-never-answers. To be polite, everyone was, um, annoyed.

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