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The article discusses a report released by the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board as of January 31, 2014 which indicates that the U.S. National Security Agency's program to collect records on all U.S. phone calls violates the law as it threatens the public privacy.

The article reports that Michigan House has passed legislation tightening rules on automated political calls by including mandatory disclosure of the individual paying for the call and their phone number and address at the beginning of the call.

The article reports that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FTC) has announced that it has amended its rules to require telemarketers to honor registrations with the National Do-Not-Call Registry indefinitely, as required by a law enacted last year. The FTC, which manages the registry, has moved to ensure that numbers placed on the Do-Not-Call list will remain there unless a consumer cancels the registration or the number is disconnected, reassigned or becomes invalid.

The article reports that U.S. Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said that she expects to move legislation regulating political robocalls despite concerns that it might violate the First Amendment. The bill, which would not take effect until the next election cycle, would limit robocalls 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election. Violators could be fined by the Federal Election Commission under the bill.

The article reports on the move of several U.S. states to formulate legislation that will combat automated telephone calls. Legislators are looking for measures that would balance the residents' desire to limit calls without violating the First Amendment. The Nebraska Legislature has approved a measure that would limit the number of automated political calls per day.

This article reports that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist hopes to vote this week on legislation that would prohibit the online sale or purchase of individuals' monthly phone records. A Frist aide added that Frist has asked the Commerce and Judiciary panels to work together on a bill. Both committees approved similar bills earlier this year that would prohibit the sale or purchase of records without a consumer's permission. The legislation was prompted by reports last year that companies were collecting and selling the data without consumer's consent.

This article reports that U.S. House Representative Jim McDermott, asked a full nine-member appeals court to hear an appeal of a case involving an illegally taped telephone call that was leaked to reporters nearly a decade ago. A three-judge appeals court panel ruled last month that McDermott violated federal law by giving the news media a tape recording of a 1996 call involving then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and now-House Majority Leader John Boehner. The 2-1 opinion, by judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, upheld a lower court ruling that McDermott violated the rights of Boehner. The appeals court ordered McDermott to pay Boehner about $700,000 for leaking the taped conversation. The figure includes $60,000 in damages and more than $600,000 in legal costs.

This article reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against House Representative Jim McDermott, in a decade-old dispute over an illegally recorded telephone call between now-House Majority Leader John Boehner and then-Speaker Newt Gingrich. In its 2-1 ruling, the court upheld a lower court ruling requiring McDermott to pay Boehner $700,000 for leaking the tape to news outlets. The tape included a conversation about a House Ethics Committee investigation of Gingrich. McDermott's attorneys had argued that his actions were protected under the First Amendment.

U.S. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin today asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explain whether existing access charge rules apply to long-distance telephone calls made over the Internet. Tauzin noted that AT& T Corp., in a petition filed more than 15 months ago, had asked the FCC whether access charges apply to long-distance calls that the company transports over its Internet protocol (IP) backbone. Tauzin said he is "extremely concerned" that the FCC's failure to answer AT&T's question regarding its IP telephony services could "jeopardize our ability to keep telephone rates in rural areas affordable."