Welcome to the Tech & Telecom Weekly, an e-newsletter keeping you apprised of the latest developments in the telecommunications and high-tech industries.
Cybersecurity
Amidst a seemingly endless stream of data breaches and other serious privacy and cybersecurity incidents, cyber insurance is more critical than ever. On September 14, 2020, at 1:00pm ET, Potomac Law partner and Insurance Recovery and Risk Management Practice Leader Roberta Anderson Sutton will present a complimentary webinar, entitled Best Practices for Placing Cutting Edge "Cyber" Insurance: Policyholder, Insurer and Broker Perspectives, with Joshua Mooney, Partner and Chair of White and Williams LLP’s Cyber Law and Data Protection Group, and Tom Ricketts, Cyber Practice Leader for AON New York’s Professional Services Practice. To register for this complimentary webinar, please fill out this form. Registrants will be sent an email with login instructions for the webinar.
In the Courts
Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas Inc. has agreed to settle a whistleblower suit initiated by a former employee over electronic health records (EHR) software sold by KMHA subsidiary Viztek LLC. Citing concerns over possible patient harm, the complaint filed by federal prosecutors in New Jersey alleged Viztek falsely attested that its Exa EHR software platform meets U.S. Department of Health and Human Services criteria for "meaningful use". As part of the settlement agreement, the former employee who filed the qui tam action will receive $100,000. For more information on this case, United States ex rel. Leighsa Wilson v. Viztek Inc., please contact Susan Metcalfe.
FTC Items
The Federal Trade Commission has announced an increase in the fees charged for access to the Do Not Call registry. Starting October 1, 2020, telemarketers will be charged $66 per area code (starting with the 6th area code accessed—the first five are free) up to a maximum of $18,044. Businesses are reminded that federal law prohibits telemarketing calls to numbers registered on the Do Not Call registry. For more information, please contact William Baker.
Compliance Alerts
FCC Form 477, which reports broadband and voice services provided January 1 to June 30, 2020, is due September 1, 2020. This filing is required from of wired or fixed wireless local exchange service providers, facilities-based providers of broadband connections to end users, providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to end users, and facilities-based mobile providers. The Public Notice regarding this deadline is here (DA 20-942), and the filing portal can be found here. For more information about Form 477, please contact Katherine Barker Marshall.
The FCC Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council VII will hold a meeting on September 16, 2020, at 2:00 pm ET. Several Reports will be discussed: Standard Operating Procedures for Emergency Alerting Communications; Risks Introduced by 3GPP Releases 15 and 16 5G Standards; and Security Risks and Best Practices for Mitigation in 911 in Legacy, Transitional, and Next Generation 911 (NG911) Implementations. The meeting will be livestreamed here. For more information, please contact Katherine Barker Marshall. (DA 20-948)
The next meeting of the North American Numbering Council (NANC) will be held on September 24, 2020, at 9:30 am ET. NANC will vote on best practices for implementing effective call authentication frameworks in accordance with the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act). The meeting can be attended via conference call and via livestreaming here. For more information, please contact Katherine Barker Marshall. (DA 20-930)
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