FCC

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NBC Gives Trump 'Equal Time' After Harris' Appearance on SNL

Republican FCC commissioner had complained about what he saw as a rules violation

(Newser) - After a commissioner claimed Kamala Harris' surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live violated the Federal Communications Commission's "equal time" rules, NBC offered Donald Trump equal time. Brendan Carr, a Republican appointed to the FCC by Donald Trump, posted on X Saturday that Harris' SNL appearance seemed to be...

FCC Reinstates Net Neutrality Opposed by Broadband Industry
FCC Restores Net Neutrality
Apr 25, 2024 7:25 PM CDT

FCC Restores Net Neutrality

Rules had been imposed under Obama and scrapped under Trump

(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday reinstated net neutrality regulations that prohibit internet service providers from interfering with online speeds to favor certain websites. The rules were imposed during the Obama administration, then rescinded during the Trump administration. Democrats have a 3-2 majority on the FCC, and that was the...

FCC Outlaws AI-Generated Voices in Robocalls

Steep fines await those who attempt to use the technology to manipulate voters, scam people

(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday outlawed robocalls that contain voices generated by artificial intelligence, a decision that sends a clear message that exploiting the technology to scam people and mislead voters won't be tolerated. The unanimous ruling targets robocalls made with AI voice-cloning tools under the Telephone Consumer...

Get Ready for Lots of Noise Wednesday Afternoon

FEMA, FCC are conducting emergency alert test

(Newser) - Starting midday on Wednesday, your cellphone will likely start making a lot of noise—and it won't be alone. FEMA, in conjunction with the FCC, will be conducting a nationwide test of both its Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts, with an emergency alert sent to radios and...

FCC Chief Scolded Networks Over 'Vast Wasteland' of TV

Newton Minow's famous 1961 speech challenged broadcasters to do better

(Newser) - Newton N. Minow, who as Federal Communications Commission chief in the early 1960s famously proclaimed that network television was a "vast wasteland," died Saturday. He was 97. Minow, who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, died Saturday at home, the AP reports. Though Minow held the...

FCC Targets Source of 77M Robocalls Per Day

Orders US phone companies to block calls asking about vehicle warranties

(Newser) - The FCC has ordered US phone companies to block millions of illegal robocalls advertising extended vehicle warranties, which were the largest source of consumer complaints to the FCC in each of the past two years, per CNN . More than 8 billion robocalls to US consumers since 2018 have claimed a...

FCC Commissioner Asks App Stores to Ditch TikTok

'TikTok is not what it appears to be on the surface,' Brendan Carr says

(Newser) - One of the leaders of the Federal Communications Commission is urging Apple and Google to ban TikTok, which he says "harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing." Brendan Carr, one of the FCC's four current commissioners, made the request to...

Right-Wing Activists Face $5M Fine for Election Disinformation

FCC proposes largest ever fine for TCPA violation for Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman

(Newser) - Two conservative activists were trying to suppress minority voters in largely Democratic areas when they made more than 1,100 unlawful robocalls offering false claims about mail-in voting in the 2020 presidential election, according to the FCC , which hopes to levy its largest fine ever proposed for a robocall operation...

It's the 'Most Meaningful Regulatory Action Ever' on Robocalls
It's the 'Most
Meaningful
Regulatory Action
Ever' on Robocalls
in case you missed it
Jul 11, 2021 5:34 PM CDT

It's the 'Most Meaningful Regulatory Action Ever' on Robocalls

FCC requiring phone providers to verify phone number before call is made

(Newser) - If you've noticed a recent drop in spam calls, thank the Federal Communications Commission. As of June 30, major US phone providers must use caller ID authentication meant to block spoofed robocalls, costing Americans some $10 billion annually, and help "law enforcement track bad actors," according to...

FCC Slaps Spam Callers With Record $225M Fine

Texas-based telemarketers send out more than 1B calls

(Newser) - Under a bill Congress passed in 2019, spammers can be fined up to $10,000 for a single robocall. The fine handed out to two Texas-based telemarketers Wednesday worked out to less than 5 cents per robocall, but it was still a new record for the Federal Communications Commission. The...

Low-Income Families May Get $50 a Month for Internet

FCC approves subsidy to help close the digital divide

(Newser) - With so many people working and attending school from home during the pandemic, it's become crucial that as many Americans as possible have access to high-speed internet. That's why the FCC on Thursday gave the green light to a $3.2 billion initiative that will offer eligible families...

FCC Slaps Sinclair With Record Fine

Conservative broadcaster slammed for 'completely unacceptable' conduct

(Newser) - The Sinclair Broadcasting Group's effort to create a conservative television juggernaut has ended in a failure and a record $48 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission. The fine—which the FCC says is the largest it has ever levied against a broadcaster—is largely the result of the...

Robocalls Won't End With Trump's Signature

Enforcement of new law won't be easy, but free call-blocking services are coming

(Newser) - An anti-robocall measure signed into law Monday by President Trump should help reduce the torrent of unwanted calls promising lower interest rates or pretending to be the IRS, though it won't make all such calls disappear, reports the AP . Under federal law, it's already illegal to fake numbers...

It Will Soon Be Much Easier to Call Suicide Hotline

FCC plans to set up '988' as national suicide prevention hotline number

(Newser) - In most emergencies, you only need to dial three digits to get help: 911. But for people considering suicide, it takes a lot more digits than that to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Thanks to a proposal advanced Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission, that will soon change. The...

Internet Regulation, Buh-Bye
Internet Regulation, Buh-Bye
Oct 1, 2019 1:17 PM CDT

Internet Regulation, Buh-Bye

The FCC was mostly lawful in repealing net neutrality, an appeals court rules

(Newser) - Net neutrality champions suffered a major blow Tuesday—but not a total loss. A federal appeals court ruled that the FCC's decision to ditch net neutrality rules in 2017 was in fact lawful, the Washington Post reports. But the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...

Major Carriers Pledge Action on Robocalls

Americans are getting nearly 5B of them a month

(Newser) - Major phone companies have pledged to do more to fight robocalls plaguing Americans, the country's state attorneys general say. It's the latest step from government and industry to combat the growing problem, the AP reports. Americans get nearly 5 billion automated calls from scammers, telemarketers, debt collectors, and...

Plagued by Robocalls? Help May Be Coming

The volume of calls is now at about 5B a month

(Newser) - New measures by US regulators could help thwart some of the billions of robocalls received across America. The FCC said Wednesday that it will vote in June on whether to let wireless carriers block spam calls by default, which should mean that more spam calls are blocked. Right now, customers...

Beware of One-Ring Robocall Scam
Don't Return
Robocalls, FCC Warns
May 5, 2019 9:59 AM CDT

Don't Return Robocalls, FCC Warns

Scam profits from toll charges

(Newser) - Returning a robocall can cost money. The FCC has warned consumers not to fall for a scam involving calls that ring once. The idea is to get people to call back, UPI reports, which can incur a toll charge like the one for calling a 900 number. That profits the...

Calif. Just OK'd Strongest Net Neutrality Law in the US

Trump administration immediately sued

(Newser) - California Gov. Jerry Brown approved the nation's strongest net neutrality law Sunday, prompting a lawsuit by the Trump administration and opening the next phase in the battle over internet regulation. Net neutrality advocates hope the law—which Brown signed to stop internet providers from favoring certain content or sites,...

Most Americans Will Get the Same Text Next Thursday

You can't opt out out of this 'Presidential Alert'

(Newser) - You may hear a bit of noise next Thursday afternoon after lunch, and you can thank FEMA and the FCC. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the two agencies are pushing out a "Presidential Alert" test to nearly every cellphone in the nation Sept. 20 to "assess the operational readiness...

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