Do Not Call

On June 27, 2003, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened the National Do Not Call Registry. The registry was developed so that U.S. consumers could limit the amount of telemarketing calls they receive. Registration for the Do Not Call list began on June 27, 2003 and enforcement began on October 1, 2003. You can register your home and mobile numbers on the registry. The Do Not Call Registry contains over 145 million phone numbers. Telemarketers have up to 31 days from the date you register your number to stop calling. If the calls continue, you can file a complaint. If a telemarketer fails to comply with the Do Not Call requirements they can face penalties up to $11,000. To date, the largest penalty for violating the Do Not Call registry was given to Direct TV for $5.3 million in 2005.

The Do Not Call Registry used to discard numbers every five years. You would then have to register your numbers again. The reason for this was so that all reassigned or disconnected numbers would be cleaned out. New technology has made it possible for the registry to clean out these numbers through a "scrubbing program" every month. Due to this program they are awaiting final congressional or agency action on whether to make registration permanent. Today, 76% of Americans have placed their numbers on the registry.

Many marketers feel the Do Not Call Registry is unconstitutional and violates the first amendment. 18 million telemarketing calls are generated daily. Marketers are upset with the Do Not Call List because they are being hurt the most by it. Without telemarketing, companies cannot reach as many people as conveniently as before. Companies were able to have one on one time with many customers per day. Now telemarketers are forced to find other ways to reach consumers. Many Commerce groups have taken the FTC to court because of this violation of speech, but they have lost. Without the Do Not Call Registry, people's right to be left alone at