Charter Chooses Nokia for 5G, Microsoft Children’s Privacy Settlement, FCC Adopts $5M Robocall Fine

June 6, 2023 — Charter Communications will use Nokia’s equipment to support the company’s 5G network rollout, according to a press release Monday.

Charter will deploy a wide range of assets in the Finnish company’s 5G radio access network technology, read the release.

The deal will help Charter continue to deliver high-speed 5G connection across its 41 targeted states, the company said.

“Incorporating Nokia’s innovative 5G technology into our advanced wireless converged network will help us ensure that Spectrum customers in areas with a high concentration of mobile traffic continue to receive superior mobile connectivity, including the nation’s fastest wireless speeds,” Justin Colwell, executive vice president of connectivity technology at Charter, said in the release.

After investing $464.25 million in 2020 to acquire 210 spectrum licenses, this is the next phase of Charter’s aim to build its mobile network business, the company said.

The company also said it sees growth in its broadband portfolio with a $60 million funding through Florida’s broadband program.

Microsoft settles on $20M for children’s privacy violations

Microsoft has agreed to pay $20 million after it violated provisions of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection law, the Federal Trade Commission announced Monday.

The FTC voted 3-0 to hand the settlement to the Department of Justice, which on the same day filed the complaint in federal court for it to take effect.

The FTC alleges the corporation had broken three major provisions of the children’s privacy law, specifically, that it failed to provide parents appropriate warning before collecting children’s personal information via the Xbox gaming platform. The company also withheld and shared the data with third parties without permission, the complaint says.

As part of the settlement, the company must also adopt new policies to strengthen privacy safeguards for Xbox players under the age of 13.

“Our proposed order makes it easier for parents to protect their children’s privacy on Xbox, and limits what information Microsoft can collect and retain about kids,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a press release. “This action should also make it abundantly clear that kids’ avatars, biometric data, and health information are not exempt from COPPA.”

Dave McCarthy, corporate vice president of Xbox Player Services, confirmed Microsoft had agreed to FTC’s settlement in an announcement the same day.

“Regrettably, we did not meet customer expectations and are committed to complying with the order to continue improving upon our safety measures,” McCarthy said. “We believe that we can and should do more, and we’ll remain steadfast in our commitment to safety, privacy, and security for our community.”

The technology sector has recently been under scrutiny for its allegedly lax approach to protecting the online privacy of children. Earlier in May, the FTC accused Facebook of breaking a privacy rule pertaining to minors. Concerns for the physical and mental health of juvenile users have also prompted lawmakers to lead the charge against Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok.

FCC adopts $5 million penalty in robocall scheme

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday issued a $5-million fine against entities involved an illegal robocall scheme during the 2020 election.

John M. Burkman, Jacob Alexander Wohl, and J.M. Burkman & Associates LLC sent out 1,141 robocalls to potential voters warning against mail-in voting as their “personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts.”

The robocalls were delivered without the consent of the receivers, which violated the FCC’s rules.

“This penalty emphasizes the seriousness with which we take our obligations to protect American consumers, and in this instance American voters, from being targeted through the clear and illegal misuse of U.S. communications networks,” said FCC Enforcement Chief Loyaan Egal.

In response to the 2021’s FCC fine proposal, Wohl and Burkman argued that political robocalls are exempt from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act restrictions, which require telemarketers to ask for consents before robocalling consumers.

The FCC denied this claim, saying that “a calling campaign is political in nature does not protect the caller from liability under Commission rules.”