Federal Communications Commission will enforce a national do-not-call registry starting today even though their ability and authority to enforce the program has been limited by a federal judge’s ruling.
Michael K. Powell, chairman of the FCC, said to a Senate committee yesterday that the agency would enforce its National Do-Not-Call rules against telemarketers that have obtained the Do-Not-Call Registry from the Federal Trade Commission.
Judge Edward W. Nottingham’s ruling prevents the FTC from sharing the list with the FCC.
“The Colorado district court’s order last night has raised questions about the FCC’s ability to enforce the list,” Mr. Powell told the Senate Committee. “Most directly, to the extent the court’s ruling prevents the F.C.C. from accessing the FTC’s database, our enforcement efforts may be hampered.”
More than 50 million phone numbers have been registered with the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that created and maintained the list. Under the law, telemarketers who call numbers on the list face fines of up to $11,000 per violation.
(via New York Times)
3 responses so far ↓
stacey // Jul 26, 2004 at 7:01 pm
Personally i think this is unconstitutional. Phoneo numbers are public knowledge and if a person wants their number private, then they should pay for the service. One is able to hang the phone up.
Barry Williams // Nov 3, 2004 at 9:54 am
So stacey, just where in the constitution is making telephone calls protected? Would that be freedom of speech?
While companies have some right to use communication media, it is not without restriction. When was the last time you saw a cigarette ad on TV?
Also, my right to privacy and freedom from being bombarded by telephone calls trumps the free speech of any company making calls.
We were getting upwards of 15 calls a day. Mow, BLISS! No jumping up during dinner to answer the telephone.
Tell ya what there skippy . . . you can field all of those calls for me . . . Ummmm K?
Dottie // Apr 9, 2005 at 8:27 pm
So how do we report violations of “do not call” faxes and/or calls
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