Developments of Note

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order directing certain providers of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service to supply enhanced 911 (E911) emergency calling capabilities to their customers as a mandatory feature of the service. The order places obligations on interconnected VoIP service providers that are similar to traditional telephone providers in that they enable customers to receive calls from and to terminate calls to the public switched-telephone network (PSTN). It does not place obligations on other IP-based service providers, such as those that provide instant messaging or Internet gaming services. The FCC's order is available at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-116A1.pdf.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking under the federal CAN-SPAM Act. The Commission proposed rule provisions on five topics: 1) defining the term “person”; 2) modifying the definition of “sender” to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message will be responsible for complying with the Act's “opt-out” requirements; 3) clarifying that Post Office boxes and private mailboxes established pursuant to U. S. Postal Service regulations constitute “valid physical postal addresses” within the meaning of the Act; 4) shortening from 10 days to three the time a sender may take before honoring a recipient's opt-out request; and 5) clarifying that to submit a valid opt-out request, a recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Web page.