Friday, February 24, 2012

FCC - landline robocalls to require prior written consent

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) approved - on 15 February 2012 - changes to the Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) - which will require telemarketers to obtain 'prior express written consent' from individuals before placing an autodialed or prerecorded marketing call ('robocall') to residential landline phones.

Threat from Loss of Personal Data Insufficient to Establish Standing

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California has dismissed a class action lawsuit arising out of the loss of server drives containing the personal and medical information of over 800,000 California residents. The plaintiffs in Whitaker v. Health Net of California, Inc., alleged that they were likely to suffer future harm as a result of the loss of their information. The court, however, found the threat of future harm alleged by the plaintiffs to be “wholly conjectural and hypothetical,” and therefore held that the plaintiffs’ allegations were insufficient to establish standing under Article III of the Constitution.

© Copyright 2012 Steptoe & Johnson LLP