Telecommunications

This 30-year-old film explains wiretap rules well

Columnist Adam Banner is a sucker for a Martin Scorsese crime film. While he was on vacation and looking for something to watch, he noticed the 1995 classic Casino streaming. He is a fan of the film and thought it was ripe for another viewing.

Jul 28, 2025 9:15 AM CDT

Nondelegation doctrine doesn’t nix FCC funding program for internet and phone service, Supreme Court rules

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that a program to fund internet and communications services for underserved areas does not violate the nondelegation doctrine.

Jun 27, 2025 10:00 AM CDT

6th Circuit strikes down FCC’s net neutrality rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit struck down the FCC’s “net neutrality” rules governing internet service providers on Thursday, in an early policy win for Republicans seeking to reverse Biden-era industry regulation.

Jan 2, 2025 2:45 PM CST

Apple agrees to $95M settlement in Siri privacy class-action case

Apple has agreed to end a five-year legal battle over user privacy related to its virtual assistant Siri with a $95 million payout to affected customers, according to a preliminary settlement.

Jan 2, 2025 2:30 PM CST

Justice Department IG seeks new protections on seizing communications of lawmakers, journalists

The Justice Department during Donald Trump’s first presidential term used concerning and surreptitious tactics to obtain communications from members of Congress, their staffers and news reporters as prosecutors investigated public leaks of sensitive government information, according to a report released Tuesday by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

Dec 10, 2024 1:15 PM CST

Supreme Court will consider reviving another curb on agency power known as nondelegation doctrine

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether Congress and the Federal Communications Commission violated the nondelegation doctrine in a challenge to fees imposed on telecommunications carriers to help provide service in underserved areas.

Nov 25, 2024 12:03 PM CST

DOJ seeks forced sale of Chrome, other big changes at Google in monopoly case

The Justice Department is seeking to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser and make other major changes to remedy its illegal search monopoly, prosecutors told a Washington court Wednesday, setting a marker in the landmark case before the incoming Trump administration makes its own determinations about how to proceed.

Nov 21, 2024 3:48 PM CST

FCC slashes cost of phone calls for inmates, capping decades-long effort

The cost of phone calls will drop dramatically for incarcerated people under new rules that federal regulators have approved, concluding a decades-long effort to provide relief to the nation’s 2 million inmates and their families.

Jul 22, 2024 8:21 AM CDT

‘Seinfeld’ episode inspired new telemarketing law in New Jersey

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill last week that that requires telemarketers to provide a callback number and to identify themselves and whom they represent within 30 seconds.

May 26, 2023 12:26 PM CDT

Aubrey Coleman is helping bring communities access to high-speed internet and other infrastructure

In January 2021, Aubrey Coleman became a program manager at Microsoft and began working with internet service providers to bring affordable broadband to people living in unserved rural areas across the country. He also partners with community organizations to educate residents on how to obtain federal subsidies to reduce the price of internet access; how to safely navigate the internet; and how to access computers or tablets at lower prices.

Feb 1, 2023 12:50 AM CST

The metaverse and Web3 are all the rage, but the law is stuck at Web1

The metaverse and Web3, including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and more, are evolving to become another Wild West technology frontier where existing laws are hard to apply, legal experts say.

Oct 1, 2022 2:10 AM CDT

Wiretapping’s origins might surprise you

On the cover of author Brian Hochman’s book is a martini cocktail complete with a skewered olive. Hochman shares the real story that inspired the cover in this new podcast episode.

May 11, 2022 8:37 AM CDT

FCC approves plan to make some phone calls cheaper for inmates and their families

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to make phone calls more affordable for people in prisons or jails by approving a plan to reduce out-of-state call rates by at least one-third.

May 21, 2021 10:16 AM CDT

Supreme Court strikes down exception to a ban on robocalls, citing First Amendment concerns

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down an exception to a federal ban on robocalls because it impermissibly favors one type of speech over others.

Jul 6, 2020 12:32 PM CDT

Top secure communication tools for lawyers during the COVID-19 crisis

Like most lawyers, you’ve probably been working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the quarantines and social distancing requirements, you didn’t have much of a choice. Obviously, you’re not alone, since remote working has become the new normal for most businesses during the pandemic, writes lawyer and author Nicole Black of MyCase.

Jun 22, 2020 2:41 PM CDT