Verizon won preliminary federal court injunction blocking enforce...
Verizon won preliminary federal court injunction blocking enforcement by Washington state regulators of tough telecom customer account privacy rules that took effect Jan. 1. U.S. Dist. Court Judge Barbara Rothstein, Seattle, said Verizon’s petition had raised “serious questions” about…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
rules’ constitutionality and showed carrier could suffer irreparable harm if rules were enforced while court appeal was pending. Privacy rules adopted by Wash. Utilities & Transportation Commission (WUTC) offer level of protection beyond what FCC specifies. WUTC rules prohibit carriers from selling or using sensitive customer information, such as calling patterns, for marketing purposes unless customer explicitly consents to such use. FCC rules, in contrast, allow use of sensitive data for marketing unless customer specifically forbids such use. Verizon said WUTC rules infringed on its First Amendment commercial free speech rights. It said WUTC had overstepped its legal authority and had hindered company’s ability to speak with and serve its customers. Judge Rothstein said enforcing rules during pendency of Qwest’s appeal would pose more harm to Verizon’s free speech rights than to privacy interests of customers, who would remain protected by FCC’s privacy rules while case proceeded.