Congress Adresses 'Do Not Call' Expiration

Separate House and Senate committees passed legislation Tuesday, taking the first steps to make permanent the nearly 145 million names and numbers on the national Do Not Call list by essentially eliminating a five year expiration date enacted by the FTC.

Starting next month, millions of people would be required to re-register their phone numbers with the list, but the Federal Trade Commission decided last week to forgo the removal of the expired numbers while congress considers making the current telephone numbers on the list permanent.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee cleared H.R. 3541, the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 on Tuesday. It will go to the full House for a vote. In the Senate, S. 2096, also called the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, cleared the Commerce Committee; likewise, it will go ahead to the full Senate for a vote.

Several bloggers are championing the Do Not Call Registry.

Marc Hedlund of O'Reilly Radar:

The closest the U.S. has gotten to a privacy uprising is the National Do Not Call Registry. According to a January, 2007 Times article, since its launch in 2003, "more than 137 million phone numbers have been placed on the list by people tired of interruptions during dinner or their favorite TV show." 137 million! The seeds of a movement are there, at least. While probably nothing else has risen to that level of response, news coverage of ChoicePoint, identity theft, and the like make privacy a popular topic of lip service -- but usually, unfortunately, little else.

Skeet of Skeet's Stuff:

So should you register your cell phone? It can’t hurt. I get occasional telemarketing calls on my cell phone, so I decided it was the reasonable thing to do. You can do it online at the National Do Not Call Registy or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register. I used the phone number to register my cell and office phones today. It took less than two minutes to do each. My fax machine does not have a handset on it, so I registered my fax line through the online site (link above.) That was also quick and easy. I look at it the same way that I see buying term insurance - like an ace in the hole. I remember registering my phone (land line) when Do Not Call became available, but maybe that was before I got new numbers. I regularly get calls from Sun Marketing (as do thousands of others who have complained about them) and occasionally from other telemarketers. Now that I know for sure that all of my phones are registered I’ll be able to file complaints if these nuisance calls continue. It takes thirty-one days for your number to actually enter the system, but after that you’re protected for five years. It’s free, so I can’t think of any reason not to do it.

The registry began in June 2003 and prohibits companies from calling those listed. Fines reach $11,000 per violation. Political, charitable or survey work organizations are exempt. Companies having a sales history with a customer may call for up to 18 months after the last delivery, payment or purchase.

-Dippold

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