Last week, the Seventh Circuit severely narrowed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) application to text messages, following several district court decisions. The court held that private litigants cannot sue under the Do Not Call prohibitions when a sender fails to honor opt-out requests for unwanted marketing text messages.
The decision may limit one avenue
Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently issued a significant Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) decision in Steidinger, et al. v. Blackstone Medical Services, holding that text messages are not “telephone calls” for purposes of the private right of action contained in Section 227(c)(5) of the TCPA. The case involved plaintiffs
The FCC has released a Public Notice reminding Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) carriers that the deadline for filing challenges to the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) to be considered for inclusion in the December 2026 Fabric revision is September 1, 2026. Additional information about the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) is available here, and
Plaintiff-Appellant Seth Steidinger filed a class action against Defendant-Appellee Blackstone Medical Services alleging that Defendant repeatedly sent text messages despite Plaintiff allegedly sending repeated “STOP” requests. The District Court granted Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, finding that Section 227(c)(5) of the TCPA does not apply to text messages. Plaintiff appealed that decision.On July 14, 2026, the
All intrastate, interstate, and international providers of telecommunications services (including VoIP providers) within the United States, with limited exceptions, are required to file FCC Form 499-Q online with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) by August 1 each year, reporting revenue information from April 1 through June 30, and projections for October 1 through December 31 of
The FCC has released a Public Notice reminding recipients in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (Rip-and-Replace Program) to file their next spending report by Monday, August 10, 2026. Reimbursement Program participants must submit their spending reports through the Supply Chain Reimbursement Program Online Portal by completing FCC Form 5640 Part L: Spending Reports. A
This summer, the automatic renewal landscape continues to heat up as New York City and Louisiana both added to the growing patchwork of laws businesses need to consider when offering any subscription or other continuous service offer subject to state autorenewal laws. New York CityEarlier this year, we covered the New York City Department of Consumer
This update highlights key legislative and regulatory developments in the second quarter of 2026 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and Internet of Things (“IoT”).
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) set a new deadline of September to publish long-delayed rules to implement a cyber incident reporting law. Rules to implement the 2022 Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA) were due by October 4, 2025, but were delayed in part due to significant stakeholder criticism regarding scope