ADT Solar “specifically denies” plaintiff Casey Bertram’s class-action allegations that it has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, that Bertram “is entitled to bring this action on behalf of any class," or that he meets any of the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, said ADT’s answer Wednesday (docket 2:23-cv-02206) in U.S. District Court for Central Illinois in Urbana. Bertram’s Sept. 22 complaint alleges ADT made at least four telemarketing calls to his residential number, despite that number having been listed on the national do not call registry since November 2005 (see 2309240001). But the complaint fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted because ADT had “the prior express written consent” with Bertram and each of his putative class members to make the calls, said ADT’s answer. To the extent that Bertram seeks treble damages for knowing and willful violations of the TCPA, “it violates ADT’s rights to protection against excessive fines, and equal protection and procedural and substantive due process” under the Fifth and 14th amendments, it said. “ADT expressly reserves the right to raise additional affirmative or other defenses that may be established by discovery and the evidence in this case,” said its answer. It asks the court to enter a judgment dismissing the complaint in its entirety with prejudice and awarding ADT its court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.
A bipartisan group of nine senators sent a letter to the commerce and energy secretaries and the U.S. trade representative opposing a potential critical minerals deal between the U.S. and Indonesia.
Broadband officials and experts raised concerns Wednesday about the role of railroad crossings in broadband deployment. Panelists during a Broadband Breakfast webinar cited delays in right-of-way application decisions from railroad owners as one of the main obstacles and backed establishing a national framework to address the issue as states prepare to dole out funding through NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program and other federal funding.
The FCC released drafts Wednesday on items it will address at the commissioners' Nov. 15 open meeting, headlined by digital discrimination rules and an order on providing survivors of domestic violence with safe and affordable access to communications. Other items on the agenda include the adoption of digital discrimination rules, the use of AI in fighting robocalls, SIM swap and port-out fraud and amateur radio changes. Commissioners will also consider a declaratory ruling and memorandum opinion in response to a 2022 petition by Minnesota Independent Equal Access Corp. (MIEAC) seeking relief from dominant carrier regulation of its interstate switched access service.
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and subpanel members from both parties voiced growing frustration during a Tuesday hearing with DOJ’s perceived reticence in enforcing existing anti-robocall statutes and eyed the FCC’s Further NPRM giving consumers more choice on the robocalls and robotexts they will receive (see 2306080043). There was more uneven interest among Senate Communications members and witnesses at the hearing in pursuing additional legislation to address ongoing robocall problems amid those enforcement shortcomings.
Industry welcomed the FCC's efforts to establish a sustainability framework as part of its review of the future of its USF high-cost programs. Comments posted Tuesday in docket 10-90 showed widespread support for a contribution revamp and ensuring ongoing support for operational expenses remains available.
Members of Congress, since they have raised concerns about how administration actions to strike critical minerals deals overrode their trade authority and undermined the intent of the Inflation Reduction Act, may want to consider either passing trade promotion authority that addresses the issue, or passing more laws like the one regarding the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, a recent report from the Congressional Research Service suggested.
More than 100 Senate and House members this week asked the Biden administration to explain the steps it’s taking to address Hamas’ and other terrorist groups’ use of cryptocurrency to raise money and evade sanctions. In an Oct. 17 bipartisan letter to the Treasury Department and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the lawmakers pointed to reports that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad collectively raised over $130 million in crypto between August 2021 and June 2023, and asked if the administration needs more tools to “address the national security threats posed by illicit use of crypto by terrorist organizations.”
A House subcommittee hearing on the government's implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act zoomed in on de minimis shipments, low incidence of cotton isotopic testing and the slow pace of adding businesses to the UFLPA Entity List, which captures companies that accept labor transfers outside of Xinjiang.
The Commerce and Defense departments postponed briefings for the Senate Armed Services and Commerce committees originally expected to happen next week on the Pentagon's report on its study on repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial 5G use (see 2309280087), lawmakers and communications lobbyists told us. There has been no clear explanation why, but word of the delay circulated in conjunction with chatter that the two federal departments are disagreeing on what the report’s conclusions mean for bids to sell or share parts of the lower 3 GHz band.