LEGALBRIEFS
By Top Class Actions
FCC To Require Telecommunications Companies To Block International Robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) unanimously decided to enact new regulations that will require telecom providers to block unlawful robocalls when routing phone traffic into the country .
The new FCC mandate will require providers that channel international phone calls to implement a new policy called STIR / SHAKEN in addition to other new measures aimed at preventing robocalls .
The decision to require telecom providers to implement the new procedures passed in a 4-0 vote by the commission as the agency attempts to resolve an issue that has plagued the industry for years .
“ Stopping illegal robocalls is one of the Commission ’ s top consumer protection priorities ,” the FCC states in a fact sheet dated April 28 . “ Illegal robocalls that originate abroad present a particular problem because of the difficulty in reaching foreign-based robocallers and the foreign voice service providers that originate their traffic .”
The FCC adopted a total of three new initiatives , including a requirement for gateway providers to submit both a mitigation and certification plan to the Robocall Mitigation Database . This database is used to track the practices telecom providers use to block robocalls and certifies that they are adhering to those practices .
The STIR / SHAKEN policy , meanwhile , authenticates
“ unauthenticated Session Initiation Protocol ( SIP ) calls that are carrying a U . S . number in the caller ID field ,” according to the agency .
“ Gateway providers serve as a critical choke-point for reducing the number of illegal robocalls received by American consumers ,” the FCC says in a statement . “ The new rules require gateway providers to participate in robocall mitigation , including blocking efforts , take responsibility for illegal robocall campaigns on their networks , cooperate with FCC enforcement efforts , and quickly respond to efforts to trace illegal robocalls to their source .”
Telecom providers that do not adhere to the new requirements may be removed from the database and potentially subjected to mandatory blocking by others in the network , according to the FCC .
There were more than 50 billion robocalls in the United States last year . The FCC , meanwhile , has ordered a total of $ 208.4 million in fines for Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations since 2015 .
Firefighter Turnout Gear May Protect From Heat , But Expose Skin To Toxins
Firefighters face dangers every time they ’ re on a call , but new evidence shows they also may be exposed to toxins from their wearable fire protection known as turnout gear .
In order to protect firefighters from water and the potential of steam burns , their personal protective equipment is treated with PFAS , known as “ forever chemicals .”
PFAS don ’ t break down in the environment , which means they are literally around forever . One of the first commercially marketed products to contain these toxins was 3M ’ s Scotchgard stain repellent that often was sprayed on shoes , carpets and furniture to ensure these items wouldn ’ t stain . The chemicals also have been used on cookware and other consumer products that need protection from heat and corrosion .
A new study by Graham Peaslee , professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame , was published in the Environmental Science and Technology Letters . Research showed unusually high levels of fluorine found in firefighters ’ protective gear that was found to come from PFAS .
Peaslee and fellow researchers ran tests on 30 samples of used and unused personal protective equipment obtained from six different manufacturers . The fabric used to create the turnout gear was either heavily treated with PFAS or was made with fluoropolymers , which is a form of PFAS that helps create an oil-resistant and water-resistant final product .
A firefighter ’ s gear comprises three different layers . The thermal layer is the innermost layer that can touch the skin . A middle layer acts as a barrier to protect the thermal layer from becoming wet . The outer shell is the layer that fights off heat from a fire .
According to Peaslee ’ s research , concentrated amounts of fluorine were found on the middle layer and the outer shell , and some of the PFAS in these layers could flake off , leading to contamination of the thermal layer that lies next to the skin .
“ If they touch the gear , it gets on their hands , and if they go fight a fire and they put the gear on and take it off and then go eat and don ’ t wash hands , it could transfer hand to mouth ,” Peaslee told Phy . org . “ And if you ’ re sweating and you have sweat pores , could some of these chemicals come off on the thermal layer and get into the skin ? The answer is probably .”
Peaslee is also the co-author of