Drinker Biddle Lawyers Contribute to PLI’s 2017 Telecommunications Law Answer Book

Each year, Drinker Biddle lawyers contribute to the Practising Law Institute (PLI) Telecommunications Law Answer Book, an annually published, 600-plus page comprehensive overview of the legal and regulatory issues faced by the telecommunications industry.

Washington, D.C., partner Laura Phillips served as Editor. This year’s contributors include: partners Darren Cahr, Michael Daly, Mark Dever, Seamus Duffy, Eduardo Guzmán, Andrew Kassner and Joanne Lewers; counsel Katherine Armstrong; of counsel Lee Petro and Michael Remington; and associates Anthony Glosson, Cynthia Irani, Camillie Landrón, Nathan Pollard, Jeremiah Posedel, Jennifer Roussil and Patrick Thompson.

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the recent Congressional and FCC initiatives on data privacy and security and the restrictions on foreign ownership of U.S. communications companies regulated by the FCC, as well as other topics, including:

• The duties and obligations that apply to common carriers that provide telecommunications services
• The impact of and policy goals behind the Communications Act of 1934 and Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as other federal statutes and regulations
• The FCC regulation of the radio and television spectrum, as well as ownership of broadcast stations and cable systems
• Why social media regulation is different from other media, and why the legal and practical analysis often differs from traditional advertising and broadcast outlets
• “Accessibility by design,” or the idea that from the moment of concept to realization, a communications product should be designed with accessibility in mind for those with cognitive or physical disabilities
• The enforcement process for companies or individuals that are alleged to have violated the rules of the Federal Communications Commission
• The rules regulating customer relationships, and how political advertising should be handled