In late December 2025, the FCC updated its “Covered List” to add foreign-produced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, and their critical components after an Executive Branch interagency body determined that they pose “unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.” Subsequently
Continue Reading FCC “Covered List” Updated to Include Certain Drones and Related Components, Subject to an Exception
Yaron Dori
Yaron Dori has over 25 years of experience advising technology, telecommunications, media, life sciences, and other types of companies on their most pressing business challenges. He is a former chair of the firm’s technology, communications and media practices and currently serves on the firm’s eight-person Management Committee.
Yaron’s practice advises clients on strategic planning, policy development, transactions, investigations and enforcement, and regulatory compliance.
Early in his career, Yaron advised telecommunications companies and investors on regulatory policy and frameworks that led to the development of broadband networks. When those networks became bidirectional and enabled companies to collect consumer data, he advised those companies on their data privacy and consumer protection obligations. Today, as new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being used to enhance the applications and services offered by such companies, he advises them on associated legal and regulatory obligations and risks. It is this varied background – which tracks the evolution of the technology industry – that enables Yaron to provide clients with a holistic, 360-degree view of technology policy, regulation, compliance, and enforcement.
Yaron represents clients before federal regulatory agencies—including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Commerce (DOC)—and the U.S. Congress in connection with a range of issues under the Communications Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and similar statutes. He also represents clients on state regulatory and enforcement matters, including those that pertain to telecommunications, data privacy, and consumer protection regulation. His deep experience in each of these areas enables him to advise clients on a wide range of technology regulations and key business issues in which these areas intersect.
With respect to technology and telecommunications matters, Yaron advises clients on a broad range of business, policy and consumer-facing issues, including:
Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things;
Broadband deployment and regulation;
IP-enabled applications, services and content;
Section 230 and digital safety considerations;
Equipment and device authorization procedures;
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA);
Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) requirements;
The Cable Privacy Act
Net Neutrality; and
Local competition, universal service, and intercarrier compensation.
Yaron also has extensive experience in structuring transactions and securing regulatory approvals at both the federal and state levels for mergers, asset acquisitions and similar transactions involving large and small FCC and state communication licensees.
With respect to privacy and consumer protection matters, Yaron advises clients on a range of business, strategic, policy and compliance issues, including those that pertain to:
The FTC Act and related agency guidance and regulations;
State privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act, the Colorado Privacy Act, the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act;
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA);
Location-based services that use WiFi, beacons or similar technologies;
Digital advertising practices, including native advertising and endorsements and testimonials; and
The application of federal and state telemarketing, commercial fax, and other consumer protection laws, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), to voice, text, and video transmissions.
Yaron also has experience advising companies on congressional, FCC, FTC and state attorney general investigations into various consumer protection and communications matters, including those pertaining to social media influencers, digital disclosures, product discontinuance, and advertising claims.
Update: Supreme Court Grants Cert in Cases Involving the FCC’s Monetary Penalty Authority
On January 9, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a circuit split over the FCC’s authority to impose monetary forfeiture penalties through its administrative process. The outcome could have significant implications for the FCC’s ability to pursue civil penalties in its enforcement cases. For more information on the issues at stake, including background…
Continue Reading Update: Supreme Court Grants Cert in Cases Involving the FCC’s Monetary Penalty AuthorityFCC Privacy Enforcement May Face More Constitutional Scrutiny: Supreme Court Review of FCC CPNI Fines Sought Amid Circuit Split
In 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines to four major telecommunications carriers—Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile—for allegedly failing to protect the geolocation data of their subscribers, which the FCC claimed violated its Customer Proprietary Network Information (“CPNI”) rules. To challenge the action, all four carriers had to first pay the fines, which they did. They then petitioned for review of the FCC’s decision in various U.S. courts of appeals, arguing that the FCC’s procedure for adjudicating monetary fines violated their right to a jury trial as guaranteed by the Seventh Amendment. Verizon sought relief in the Second Circuit, T-Mobile (which had merged with Sprint) sought relief in the D.C. Circuit, and AT&T sought relief in the Fifth Circuit.
The Second Circuit and the D.C. Circuit held in favor of the FCC, rejecting the carriers’ argument that the FCC violated their Seventh Amendment rights. But the Fifth Circuit reached a different conclusion, holding that the FCC’s procedure did in fact violate AT&T’s right to a jury trial. The FCC (which lost in the Fifth Circuit) and Verizon (which lost in the Second Circuit) each has filed a petition for certiorari at the Supreme Court.
With a 2-1 federal circuit split and two certiorari petitions pending, some are predicting that there is a good chance that the Supreme Court will decide to consider the appeals. The dispute raises a fundamental question about the FCC’s authority to impose monetary penalties through its in-house administrative enforcement procedures. If the Supreme Court grants certiorari, it will be called upon to determine whether the Communications Act violates the Seventh Amendment by authorizing the FCC to order the payment of monetary penalties for violations of the Act, without guaranteeing the right to a jury trial. The resolution of this dispute thus could have significant implications for how the FCC enforces the law against telecommunications carriers and other entities subject to its jurisdiction.
Both petitions for certiorari have been distributed for a January 9, 2026 conference.Continue Reading FCC Privacy Enforcement May Face More Constitutional Scrutiny: Supreme Court Review of FCC CPNI Fines Sought Amid Circuit Split
FCC Seeking Comment on Issues Related to Caller ID and TCPA Compliance
Today, a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) at its open meeting on October 28, 2025, was published in the Federal Register, kicking off the comment cycle for the issues raised in that FNPRM. Comments on the FNPRM are due January 5, 2026, and reply comments are due…
Continue Reading FCC Seeking Comment on Issues Related to Caller ID and TCPA ComplianceFCC Seeks Comment on Proposed Changes to Broadband Label Transparency Rules
Updated December 4, 2025. Originally posted November 26, 2025.
In November, the Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) released a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) proposing to eliminate or modify various broadband label rules for Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”). The FCC’s primary rationale for these proposed changes is that the rules are cumbersome for ISPs…
Continue Reading FCC Seeks Comment on Proposed Changes to Broadband Label Transparency RulesFCC Proposes Rule Changes to Accelerate Transition to IP Networks
Updated December 4, 2025. Originally posted November 13, 2025
At the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Open Meeting in late October, the agency unanimously adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to end certain legacy interconnection obligations of Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) to accelerate the transition to all Internet Protocol (IP) networks.
Currently, certain…
Continue Reading FCC Proposes Rule Changes to Accelerate Transition to IP NetworksFCC Modifies Equipment Authorization Rules to Address National Security Concerns
Updated December 4, 2025. Originally posted November 26, 2025
On October 29, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released its Second Report and Order (the “R&O”) and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) concerning changes to its equipment authorization rules. The R&O and FNPRM continue the FCC’s ongoing efforts to update the agency’s equipment…
Continue Reading FCC Modifies Equipment Authorization Rules to Address National Security ConcernsFCC Takes Action on Certain “Bad Labs”
Earlier this month on September 8, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it was taking an initial set of actions to address threats posed by so-called “bad labs.” “Bad labs” consist of test labs that review and approve radio frequency emitting devices for use in the U.S. but are “ultimately owned or controlled by…
Continue Reading FCC Takes Action on Certain “Bad Labs”Georgia Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against AI Developer OpenAI
Last month, a Georgia state court granted OpenAI’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing a defamation suit brought by a nationally syndicated radio show host.
In the suit, Mark Walters v. OpenAI LLC, 23-A-04860-2 (Sup. Ct. Gwinnett Cty, GA), the plaintiff alleged that that the ChatGPT tool, developed by OpenAI, defamed him when it presented…
Continue Reading Georgia Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against AI Developer OpenAIFCC Looks to Identify Telecom Investments by Foreign Adversaries
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released the final text of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) aimed at identifying FCC regulated entities that are controlled by a “foreign adversary.”
This development, along with a separate action recently taken by the FCC to adopt new rules that prohibit the use of test labs or telecommunication certification bodies located in certain jurisdictions outside the U.S., reflect a continued and growing focus by the FCC on national security, particularly with respect to foreign ownership.
The NPRM proposes to, among other things:
- Define a “foreign adversary” as “any foreign government or foreign non-government person determined by the Secretary [of Commerce] to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or security and safety of United States persons.”
Continue Reading FCC Looks to Identify Telecom Investments by Foreign Adversaries