Sure just foret the 41.7 million
folks who voluntarily signed up for it....doesn't seem to matter what we the
people want when it comes to the courts anymore does it?
Heck the reason the do not call list
was started in the first place, is because folks screamed for years about
getting the unwanted calls. Geez, makes you wonder about some of our
judges.....
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 3:41
PM
Subject: [Sndbox] Court Rules Against Do
Not Call List
CBS/AP) A federal judge has ruled that the Federal
Trade Commission overstepped its authority in creating a national do-not-call
list against telemarketers.
The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by
telemarketers who challenged the list, comprised of names of people who do not
want to receive business solicitation calls. The immediate impact of Tuesday's
ruling was not clear.
The list was to go into effect Oct. 1. Some 41.7
million people have signed up.
U.S. District Judge Lee R. West sided
in favor of the plaintiffs, U.S. Security, Chartered Benefit Services Inc.,
Global Contact Services Inc., InfoCision Management Corp. and Direct Marketing
Association Inc.
The judge found that Congress had never given the FTC
specific authority to create such a list or enforce penalties against
violators.
Under a 1991 law, the FTC was allowed to create a list of
people who did not wish to receive telephone solicitations. A separate 1994
law called on the FTC to prohibit abusive or deceptive telephone
solicitations. The judge essentially ruled that the authority in the second
law does not apply to the list in the first one.
The telemarketing
industry estimates that the do-not-call list could cut its business in half,
costing it up to $50 billion in sales each year.
More than a dozen
states with do-not-call lists plan to add their lists to the national registry
this summer, the FTC said.
Telemarketers would have to check the list
every three months to see who doesn't want to be called. Those who call listed
people could be fined up to $11,000 for each violation.
Consumers had
until the end of August to add their phone numbers to the list.
K.
Dane Snowden, chief of the Federal Communications Commission's consumer and
government affairs bureau, said those who signed up for the do-not-call list
after the deadline likely would have to wait until early next year before
calls are blocked.
The Federal Trade Commission is administering the
list, while both the FCC and FTC are enforcing it. The list has proven
extremely popular with consumers.
"Individuals want to have some
control over the telephone calls coming to their homes every single day,"
Snowden said.
In addition, telemarketing calls by Jan. 1 must carry a
name and phone number that will show up on Caller ID, Snowden said. Such calls
often now only say "out of area."
The FTC has estimated that the list
will block about 80 percent of telemarketing calls. Charities, pollsters and
political campaigns are exempt. In addition, a company may call a person
if he or she has bought, leased or rented from the firm in the previous 18
months or has inquired about or applied for something during the past three
months.
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