Category Archives: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

FCC Ruling on AI-Facilitated Fraud Illustrates the Need for Forward-Looking Enterprise Risk Management

by William Savitt, Mark F. Veblen, Noah B. Yavitz, and Courtney D. Hauck

From left to right: William Savitt, Mark F. Veblen, Noah B. Yavitz, and Courtney D. Hauck (Photos courtesy of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz)

In response to a recent boom in AI-powered robocall scams, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday a Declaratory Ruling confirming that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which regulates telemarketing and robocalls, also applies to calls using AI-generated voices. Other federal agencies and state legislatures have similarly moved to police the use and abuse of audio “deepfakes” — in which widely available tools can be used to generate realistic voice simulations from brief recordings. As technology continues to outpace regulation, boards must embrace a proactive approach to risk management, accounting for AI’s capacity to compromise long-standing practices in cybersecurity and internal controls.

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FCC Updates and Expands Data Breach Notification Rules

by Beth Burgin Waller and Patrick J. Austin

Photos of authors

From left to right: Beth Burgin Waller and Patrick J. Austin (photos courtesy of authors)

The updated data breach notification rules broaden the definition of what is considered a breach and expand the scope of who must be notified when a data breach occurs.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) voted to adopt new and expanded data breach notification requirements that apply to telecommunications, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and telecommunications relay services (TRS). The updated rules now include personally identifiable information (PII), as opposed to just customer proprietary network information (CPNI). This means carriers must provide notice when a consumer’s PII is breached.

The new data breach notification rules will go into effect approximately 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Below is an overview of the new rules.

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