Recent reports suggest that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may be considering issuing an advisory opinion on Section 230 of the Communications Act. Section 230, among other things, provides immunity to a provider of an “interactive computer service” from civil liability for third-party content posted on the provider’s site. An
Continue Reading FCC Reportedly Considering Advisory Opinion on Section 230
Yaron Dori
Yaron Dori has over 25 years of experience advising technology, telecommunications, media, life sciences, and other types of companies on their most pressing business challenges. He is a former chair of the firm’s technology, communications and media practices and currently serves on the firm’s eight-person Management Committee.
Yaron’s practice advises clients on strategic planning, policy development, transactions, investigations and enforcement, and regulatory compliance.
Early in his career, Yaron advised telecommunications companies and investors on regulatory policy and frameworks that led to the development of broadband networks. When those networks became bidirectional and enabled companies to collect consumer data, he advised those companies on their data privacy and consumer protection obligations. Today, as new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being used to enhance the applications and services offered by such companies, he advises them on associated legal and regulatory obligations and risks. It is this varied background – which tracks the evolution of the technology industry – that enables Yaron to provide clients with a holistic, 360-degree view of technology policy, regulation, compliance, and enforcement.
Yaron represents clients before federal regulatory agencies—including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Commerce (DOC)—and the U.S. Congress in connection with a range of issues under the Communications Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and similar statutes. He also represents clients on state regulatory and enforcement matters, including those that pertain to telecommunications, data privacy, and consumer protection regulation. His deep experience in each of these areas enables him to advise clients on a wide range of technology regulations and key business issues in which these areas intersect.
With respect to technology and telecommunications matters, Yaron advises clients on a broad range of business, policy and consumer-facing issues, including:
Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things;
Broadband deployment and regulation;
IP-enabled applications, services and content;
Section 230 and digital safety considerations;
Equipment and device authorization procedures;
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA);
Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) requirements;
The Cable Privacy Act
Net Neutrality; and
Local competition, universal service, and intercarrier compensation.
Yaron also has extensive experience in structuring transactions and securing regulatory approvals at both the federal and state levels for mergers, asset acquisitions and similar transactions involving large and small FCC and state communication licensees.
With respect to privacy and consumer protection matters, Yaron advises clients on a range of business, strategic, policy and compliance issues, including those that pertain to:
The FTC Act and related agency guidance and regulations;
State privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act, the Colorado Privacy Act, the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act;
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA);
Location-based services that use WiFi, beacons or similar technologies;
Digital advertising practices, including native advertising and endorsements and testimonials; and
The application of federal and state telemarketing, commercial fax, and other consumer protection laws, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), to voice, text, and video transmissions.
Yaron also has experience advising companies on congressional, FCC, FTC and state attorney general investigations into various consumer protection and communications matters, including those pertaining to social media influencers, digital disclosures, product discontinuance, and advertising claims.
Trump Administration Asserts Presidential Authority Over Independent Agencies
Yesterday, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order titled “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies” (the EO). The EO asserts Presidential authority over independent agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While the precise impacts remain to be seen, overall the EO will likely result in greater involvement by the White House in policymaking at independent agencies, both in substance and process.
OIRA Review of Agency Regulations. The EO amends the Clinton Administration-era Executive Order 12866, which established a review process for regulations promulgated by executive branch departments and agencies but excluded independent agencies from that process. The process includes requirements that departments and agencies submit “significant regulatory actions” to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review before publication in the Federal Register. Executive Order 12866 defines “significant regulatory action” to mean “any regulatory action that is likely to result in a rule that may:”
- Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities;
- Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency;
- Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or
- Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President’s priorities, or the principles set forth in this Executive order.
Yesterday’s EO revises the definition of “agencies” to remove an exemption for “independent regulatory agencies.” The amended definition includes an exemption for the Federal Reserve “in its conduct of monetary policy.”
Performance Standards and Management Objectives. The EO directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to “establish performance standards and management objectives for independent agency heads” and “report periodically to the President on their performance and efficiency in attaining such standards and objectives.”Continue Reading Trump Administration Asserts Presidential Authority Over Independent Agencies
FCC to Tackle Robust Agenda at February Open Meeting
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the agenda for its February Open Meeting, which is scheduled for February 27, 2025. This is the first agenda released by the FCC under new Chairman Brendan Carr. The agenda items on which the commissioners will vote at the meeting will include…
Continue Reading FCC to Tackle Robust Agenda at February Open MeetingTrump Administration Releases “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” Executive Order
On January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration released a memorandum, “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” to halt agency rulemaking processes (the “EO”).
The EO orders all executive departments and agencies to “not propose or issue any rule in any manner, including by sending a rule to the Office of the Federal…
Continue Reading Trump Administration Releases “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” Executive OrderAI Accessibility Software Provider Settles FTC Allegations
On January 3, 2025, the Federal Trade Center (“FTC”) announced that it reached a settlement with accessiBe, a provider of AI-powered web accessibility software, to resolve allegations that the company violated Section 5 of the FTC Act concerning the marketing and stated efficacy of its software.
The complaint alleges that…
Continue Reading AI Accessibility Software Provider Settles FTC AllegationsU.S. AI Policy Expectations in the Trump Administration, GOP Congress, and the States
The results of the 2024 U.S. election are expected to have significant implications for AI legislation and regulation at both the federal and state level.
Like the first Trump Administration, the second Trump Administration is likely to prioritize AI innovation, R&D, national security uses of AI, and U.S. private sector investment and leadership in AI. Although recent AI model testing and reporting requirements established by the Biden Administration may be halted or revoked, efforts to promote private-sector innovation and competition with China are expected to continue. And while antitrust enforcement involving large technology companies may continue in the Trump Administration, more prescriptive AI rulemaking efforts such as those launched by the current leadership of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) are likely to be curtailed substantially.
In the House and Senate, Republican majorities are likely to adopt priorities similar to those of the Trump Administration, with a continued focus on AI-generated deepfakes and prohibitions on the use of AI for government surveillance and content moderation.
At the state level, legislatures in California, Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, and others likely will advance AI legislation on issues ranging from algorithmic discrimination to digital replicas and generative AI watermarking.
This post covers the effects of the recent U.S. election on these areas and what to expect as we enter 2025. (Click here for our summary of the 2024 election implications on AI-related industrial policy and competition with China.)
The White House
As stated in the Republican Party’s 2024 platform and by the president-elect on the campaign trail, the incoming Trump Administration plans to revoke President Biden’s October 2023 Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (“2023 AI EO”). The incoming administration also is expected to halt ongoing agency rulemakings related to AI, including a Department of Commerce rulemaking to implement the 2023 AI EO’s dual-use foundation model reporting and red-team testing requirements. President-elect Trump’s intention to re-nominate Russell Vought as Director of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) suggests that a light-touch approach to AI regulation may be taken across all federal agencies. As OMB Director in the prior Trump Administration, Vought issued a memo directing federal agencies to “avoid regulatory or non-regulatory actions that needlessly hamper AI innovation and growth.”Continue Reading U.S. AI Policy Expectations in the Trump Administration, GOP Congress, and the States
IntelliVision Settles FTC Allegations Regarding its Facial Recognition Technology
On December 3, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it reached a settlement with IntelliVision Technologies Corp. (“IntelliVision”) to resolve allegations that the company violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by making certain claims concerning its AI-powered facial recognition software.
The FTC’s complaint alleged, among other things…
Continue Reading IntelliVision Settles FTC Allegations Regarding its Facial Recognition TechnologyFCC to Examine Customer Service Issues in the Communications Industry
On October 23, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) seeking comment on potential initiatives to address customer service concerns among regulated communications service providers.
The FCC stated that the goal of the NOI is “to ensure that consumers have appropriate access to the customer services…
Continue Reading FCC to Examine Customer Service Issues in the Communications IndustryHealthcare Technology Company Settles Texas Attorney General Allegations Regarding Accuracy of Generative AI Products
On September 18, 2024, the Texas Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) announced that it reached “a first-of-its-kind settlement with a Dallas-based artificial intelligence healthcare technology called Pieces Technologies” (“Pieces”) to resolve “allegations that the company deployed its products at several Texas hospitals after making a series of false and…
Continue Reading Healthcare Technology Company Settles Texas Attorney General Allegations Regarding Accuracy of Generative AI ProductsFCC Proposes New Consent and Disclosure Rules for AI-Generated Calls and Texts
On Wednesday, August 7, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend its rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to incorporate new consent and disclosure requirements for the transmission of AI-generated calls and texts. The NPRM builds off the FCC’s recent…
Continue Reading FCC Proposes New Consent and Disclosure Rules for AI-Generated Calls and Texts