On June 27, 2003, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opened the National Do Not Call Registry (DNC list) in order to comply with the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act. This has been a very popular service. In its first year, more than 62 million telephone numbers were posted to the list. It now contains more than 145 million numbers. That’s a very significant percentage of the US Population that don’t want to get bothered by telemarketing calls — there are an estimated 302 million people living in the United States today.
But there was a loophole…
When the registry was first developed, there was some concern about its accuracy as people change phone numbers. For example, one person registers a phone number with the DNC registry then drops the phone number and it gets reassigned to someone else who ends up on the registry despite not registering. Instead of keeping track of drops, the lawmakers in Washington decided it would be better to force everyone to re-register every 5 years. Fortunately, as the first 5 year anniversary is fast approaching, the FTC came to its senses and recommended to make the DNC registration permanent. Everyone, including the American Teleservices Association and the Direct Marketing Association, supported this change. According to the DM News:
“The public has voiced its strong support for the registry and the DMA wants to help consumers make informed decisions on how they can be contacted by businesses selling valuable products and services,” Jerry Cerasale, SVP of government affairs at the DMA said in a statement.
So, now the DNC list is permanent, but there’s still another big loophole with the law…
Do you wonder why you get calls from politicians even though you are on the do not call list? It’s especially apparent now with the presidential primaries and elections approaching. It’s because the lawmakers in Washington conveniently excluded political organizations from having to honor the do not call list. In other words, this is a law they imposed on everyone else except themselves. That’s just not right. They should abide by the same laws as everyone else.
The Citizens for Civil Discourse have an ongoing effort to "take back control of the political discussion" and are urging candidates to take the "Do Not Contact Pledge"
I agree with their efforts. I am a strong proponent of the democratic process, but I want to be able to gather information to make my voting decisions my way. I don’t want to be called.
However, I don’t think any one candidate can feasibly take this pledge when their opponents have not because it would put them at a disadvantage. Instead, we need to expand the law to cover politicians, too.
Additionally, the law needs to force politicians to follow "truth in caller ID." I think the candidates know most people don’t want their calls because they are resorting to some dishonest tactics. I have caller ID at home, as I am sure many of you do, and would not knowingly answer a political call. However, through dishonesty, they are getting through to me. For example, last night I got a call from a "WIRELESS CALLER" with a number from my home area code (603). Thinking it was a friend, I picked up the call only to find it was a campaigner from the Mitt Romney campaign. He went right into his spiel, but I cut him off quickly.
I’ve seen this behavior from all the other candidates, too, and it’s unfair to single out Mitt Romney. But that call is fresh in my mind and it was really annoying. Here’s my proposed solution:
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Politicians should have to abide by the do not call list
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When they make calls, the caller ID should be truthful — for example, the caller ID should display "Mitt Romney Campaign" or something like that.
Politicians should employ responsible marketing tactics, follow the same rules as everyone else, and set an example for the rest of us. What do you think?