Memorandum of Understanding United States Federal

Memorandum of Understanding

between the

United States Federal Communications Commission

and the

Australian Communications and Media Authority

Mutual Assistance in the Enforcement of Laws

on certain unlawful communications

The United States Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") and the Australian Communications

and Media Authority ("ACMA") (collectively, "the Participants"),

RECOGNIZING the importance of developing a global and coordinated approach to address unlawful

automated or prerecorded voice message telephone calls and text messages (also known as robocalls or

robotexts), and the unlawful use of inaccurate caller identification (also known as caller ID spoofing or

overstamping), and the threats that they pose to consumers and their confidence in critical communication

systems;

RECOGNIZING that the Participants serve on the Executive Committee of the Unsolicited

Communications Enforcement Network (UCENet, formerly known as the London Action Plan) and are

signatories to the associated Memorandum of Understanding Among Public Authorities of the London

Action Plan Pertaining to Unlawful Telecommunications and Spam; have worked closely in connection

with investigations and enforcement actions relating to unlawful robocalls and caller ID spoofing or

overstamping; and have collaborated on promoting technological solutions to robocalls;

RECOGNIZING that the United States Communications Act of 1934, as amended 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.

authorizes the FCC to disclose information to law enforcement authorities from other countries under

appropriate circumstances; and

RECOGNIZING that the ACMA is authorized to:

 disclose information to an institution of the government of a foreign state in specified circumstances

and under certain conditions under the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005;

and

 liaise with regulatory bodies overseas about co-operative arrangements for the prohibition or

regulation of unsolicited commercial electronic messages, address-harvesting software, unsolicited

telemarketing calls and unsolicited marketing faxes under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and the

Spam Act 2003.

HAVE REACHED THE FOLLOWING UNDERSTANDING:

I. Definitions

Solely for the purposes of this Memorandum,

1. "Applicable Law" means the laws and regulations identified in Annex 1 of this Memorandum, and

such other laws or regulations as the Participants may from time to time jointly decide in writing to be

an Applicable Law for purposes of this Memorandum.

2. "Covered Violation" means practices that would, based on available information, violate or likely

violate the Applicable Laws of one Participant's country and that are substantially similar to practices

prohibited by any provision of the Applicable Law of the other Participant's country.

3. "Request" means a request for assistance under this Memorandum.

4. "Requested Participant" means the Participant from which assistance is sought under this

Memorandum, or which has provided such assistance.

5. "Requesting Participant" means the Participant seeking assistance under this Memorandum, or which

has received such assistance.

II. Objective and Scope

1. This Memorandum sets forth the Participants' intent with regard to mutual assistance and the

exchange of information for the purpose of enforcing and securing compliance with Covered

Violations.

2. This Memorandum does not create rights or legally binding obligations under international or

domestic laws.

3. The Participants understand that it is in their common public interest to:

3.1 cooperate with respect to the enforcement against Covered Violations, including sharing

complaints and other relevant information and providing investigative assistance;

3.2 facilitate research and education related to unlawful robocalls and caller ID spoofing or

overstamping;

3.3 facilitate mutual exchange of knowledge and expertise through training programs and staff

exchanges;

3.4 promote a better understanding by each Participant of economic and legal conditions and

theories relevant to the enforcement of the Applicable Laws; and

3.5 inform each other of developments in their respective countries that relate to this

Memorandum in a timely fashion.

Further to these common interests, the Participants intend to use best efforts to:

3.6 disclose information upon request and as permitted by law, including complaints and other

personally identifiable information, that a Participant believes would be relevant to

investigations or enforcement proceedings regarding Covered Violations of the Applicable

Laws of the other Participant's country;

3.7 provide investigative assistance in appropriate cases in accordance with their respective

domestic laws;

3.8 provide other relevant information about matters within the scope of this Memorandum, such

as information relevant to consumer and business education; government and self-regulatory

enforcement solutions; amendments to relevant legislation; and staffing and other resource

issues;

3.9 explore the feasibility of staff exchanges and joint training programs;

3.10 coordinate enforcement against cross-border Covered Violations that are a priority for both

Participants;

3.11 collaborate on initiatives to promote technical and commercially viable solutions to unlawful

robocalls and caller ID spoofing or overstamping;

3.12 participate in periodic teleconferences to discuss ongoing and future opportunities for

cooperation; and

3.13 provide other appropriate assistance that would aid in the enforcement against Covered

Violations.

III. Procedures Relating to Mutual Assistance

1. Each Participant is to designate a primary contact for the purposes of requests and other

communications under this Memorandum. Notice of these designations and any subsequent changes

should be sent to the ACMA in care of the Executive Level 2 Manager responsible for the relevant

ACMA functions, and to the FCC in care of the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau.

2. If a Participant requests assistance for matters involved in the enforcement of Applicable Laws, then

Participants understand that:

2.1 requests for assistance are expected to include sufficient information to enable the Requested

Participant to determine whether a request relates to a Covered Violation and to take action in

appropriate circumstances. Such information is expected to include a description of the facts

underlying the request and the type of assistance sought, as well as an indication of any special

precautions that are expected to be taken in the course of fulfilling the request;

2.2 requests for assistance are expected to specify the purpose for which the information requested

would be used; and

2.3 consistent with other provisions of this Memorandum, a request for assistance is expected to

include confirmation that the Requesting Participant is to maintain the confidentiality of each

request for assistance, the existence of any investigation related to the request, all materials

related to each request, and all information and material provided in response to each request,

unless the Participants reach a different understanding.

3. Participants should use their best efforts to resolve any disagreements related to cooperation that may

arise under this Memorandum through the contacts referred to in Section III of this Memorandum

and, failing resolution in a reasonably timely manner, by discussion between appropriate senior

officials designated by the Participants.

IV. Limitations on Assistance

1. The Participants recognize that it is not feasible for a Participant to offer assistance to the other

Participant for every Covered Violation. Accordingly, the Participants intend to use reasonable efforts

to seek and provide cooperation focusing on those Covered Violations most serious in nature, such as

those that cause or are likely to cause injury or harm to a significant number of persons, and those

otherwise causing substantial injury or harm.

2. The Requesting Participant may request the reasons for which the Requested Participant declined or

limited assistance.

3. Participants intend to share confidential information pursuant to this Memorandum only to the extent

that it is necessary to fulfill the objectives set forth in Section II of this Memorandum, and in a

manner consistent with Section V of this Memorandum.

V. Confidentiality, Privacy, and Limitations on Use

1. Subject to this Section, the Participants plan to treat the shared information, the existence of the

investigation to which the information relates, and any requests made pursuant to this Memorandum

as confidential, and do not intend to further disclose or use the shared information for purposes other

than those for which it was originally shared, without the prior written consent of the Requested

Participant.

2. The Participants recognize that material exchanged in connection with investigations and enforcement

often contains confidential personally identifiable information. If the Requesting Participant wishes to

obtain information that includes confidential personally identifiable information, then the Participant

understands that it is to take additional appropriate measures to safely transmit and safeguard the

materials containing such information. Protective measures include, but are not limited to, the

following examples and their reasonable equivalents, which can be used separately or combined as

appropriate to circumstances:

2.1 transmitting the material in an encrypted format;

2.2 transmitting the material directly by a courier with package tracking capabilities;

2.3 transmitting the materials by facsimile rather than non-encrypted email;

2.4 maintaining the materials in secure, limited access locations (e.g., password protected files for

electronic information and locked storage for hard-copy information); and

2.5 if used in a proceeding that may lead to public disclosure, redacting confidential personally

identifiable information, as required by law, or filing under seal, as consistent with law.

3. Nothing in this Memorandum is intended to:

3.1 authorize a Participant to withhold information provided pursuant to this Memorandum in

response to a formal demand from a Participant country's legislative body or an order issued

from a court with proper jurisdiction in an action commenced by the Participant or its

government, or if disclosure is otherwise required by law in the Participant’s country; or

3.2 prevent material obtained in connection with the investigation or enforcement of criminal laws

from being used for the purpose of investigation, prosecution, or prevention of violations of

either Participant country's criminal laws.

4. Each Participant intends to safeguard the confidentiality and security of any information received

under this Memorandum and respect any safeguards decided on by the Participants, consistent with

applicable laws including but not limited to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a), the Freedom

of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552), and the Privacy Act 1988 (Australia) and associated rules and

policies by:

4.1 restricting access to the other Participant’s information to its officers, employees, consultants,

contractors, and agents who have a need for such information in the performance of their

official duties and, with respect to consultants, contractors and agents, who have entered into

an appropriate nondisclosure agreement that covers such information; and informing such

persons with access of their responsibilities under the MOU, except as otherwise provided in

writing by the other Participant;

4.2 establishing appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure the

confidentiality of personally identifiable information and data security and integrity;

4.3 complying with applicable breach notification policies and procedures; and

4.4 promptly notifying the other Participant if and when inadvertent disclosure of information

occurs and making every reasonable effort to correct the inadvertent disclosure promptly.

5. The Participants are expected to oppose, to the fullest extent possible consistent with their countries'

laws, regulations and policies, any application by a third party for disclosure of confidential

information or confidential materials received from a Requested Participant, unless the Requested

Participant consents to its release. The Participant that receives such an application is expected to

notify forthwith the Participant that provided it with the confidential information.

VI. Changes in Applicable Laws

1. In the event of significant modification to the Applicable Laws of a Participant's country that are

within the scope of this Memorandum, the Participants intend to consult promptly, and, if possible,

prior to the effective date of such enactments, to determine whether to modify this Memorandum.

VII. Retention of Information

1. Participants do not intend to retain materials obtained through this Memorandum for longer than is

reasonably required to fulfill the purpose for which they were shared or than is required by the

Requesting Participant's country's laws.

2. The Participants recognize that in order to fulfill the purpose for which the materials were shared, the

Participants typically need to retain the shared materials until the conclusion of the pertinent

investigation for which the materials were requested and any related proceedings.

VIII. Costs

1. The respective costs for each Participant resulting from the implementation of this MOU are expected

to be borne solely by each Participant. The Participants will consult to ensure this principle is satisfied

when the cost of providing or obtaining information under this Memorandum is substantial. The

Requested Participant may ask the Requesting Participant to pay those costs as a condition of

proceeding with the Request.

IX. Duration of Cooperation

1. The Participants intend cooperation under this Memorandum to commence as of the date the

Memorandum is signed by the latter of the two Participants.

2. The Participants intend that assistance consistent with this Memorandum is to be available concerning

Covered Violations occurring before as well as after this arrangement is signed.

3. This Memorandum may be discontinued at any time by either Participant, but a Participant should

endeavor to provide 30 days written notice of such discontinuation and use their best efforts to

consult with the other Participant prior to providing such notice.

4. On discontinuation of this Memorandum, the Participants are expected to maintain the confidentiality

of any information communicated to them by the other Participant under this Memorandum, and

return or destroy, consistent with any methods prescribed by the other Participant, information

obtained from the other Participant consistent with this Memorandum.

5. This Memorandum may be modified by mutual consent of the Participants. Any modification should

be in writing and signed by an appropriate officer of both the FCC and the ACMA.

X. Legal Effect

1. Nothing in this Memorandum is intended to:

1.1 Create binding obligations, or affect existing obligations, under international or domestic law.

1.2 Prevent a Participant from seeking assistance from or providing assistance to the other Participant

pursuant to agreements, or other arrangements or practices.

1.3 Affect any right of a Participant to seek information on a lawful basis from a person located in the

territory of the other Participant’s country or preclude any such person from voluntarily providing

legally obtained information to a Participant.

1.4 Create a commitment that conflicts with or would be inconsistent with either Participant's

national laws, court orders, regulations and policies, or any applicable international legal

instruments.

1.5 Create expectations of cooperation that would exceed a Participant's jurisdiction.

Signed at Washington, D.C. and at the ACMA’s offices in Australia on the respective dates below.

______________________________ ______________________________

Jessica Rosenworcel Nerida O’Loughlin

Acting Chairwoman Chair and Agency Head

Federal Communications Commission Australian Communications and

United States of America Media Authority

Date: Date:

Nerida O'Loughlin (May 26, 2021 12:18 GMT+10)

26/05/2021

Jessica Rosenworcel (May 28, 2021 07:17 EDT)

28/05/2021

Annex 1

Applicable Laws

1. Federal Communications Commission:

1. Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151-155, 227

2. Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Truth in Caller ID Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227

3. Federal Communications Commission Rules, 47 CFR §§ 0.111(a)(24); 64.1200; 64.1600(e)

4. The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. §552a

5. The Freedom of Information Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. § 552.

2. Australian Communications and Media Authority:

1. Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005

2. Do Not Call Register Act 2006

3. Spam Act 2003

4. Telecommunications Act 1997