DOJ approves Verizon spectrum deal, government finalizes off-shore drilling rules, and more.
- The Justice Department approved a deal struck by Verizon Wireless to purchase spectrum from the country’s largest cable operators.
- Government regulators issued a final set of safety rules for offshore drilling, modifying a series of emergency measures put in place after the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill.
- The House Oversight Committee filed a civil contempt lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder seeking the release of documents linked to a controversial weapons crackdown.
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published final rules in the Federal Register that define the terms “swap” and “security-based swap,” moving forward with derivatives reforms required by the Dodd-Frank Act.
- A federal appeals court said Google Inc. can appeal the granting of class status to thousands of authors in a lawsuit over digital books. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
- The Chair of the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Darryl Issa (R-CA), issued a report criticizing the Obama administration’s approach to increasing gas-mileage standards for automobiles. A few days later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a temporary delay in issuing the new fuel economy standards.
- A federal appeals court backed Texas in rejecting the Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) disapproval of the state’s Flexible Permit Program.
- The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the police do not need a warrant to collect cell phone location data, and that users have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their data transmissions when traveling with a phone.
- The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) published final rules for handling contested patent cases.
- The United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) called for a public consultation on a draft document to finalize a new treaty for regulation of the Internet before a December meeting.
- Case of a medical technician who allegedly spread hepatitis C across U.S. led to calls for more stringent regulation of patient care.
- Australia’s highest court upheld a law that prohibits tobacco companies from using their logos on cigarette packets.
