WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court said on Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission, which has received nearly 10,000 complaints regarding abuses of the National Do-Not-Call Registry, can continue enforcing the telemarketing ban on registered numbers.
“Just as a consumer can avoid door-to-door peddlers by placing a ‘no solicitation’ sign in his or her front yard, the National Do-Not-Call Registry lets consumers avoid unwanted sales pitches that invade the home via telephone, if they choose to do so. We are convinced that the First Amendment does not prevent the government from giving consumers this option,” wrote Judge David Ebel. “The do-not-call regulations protect these households from receiving most unwanted telemarketing calls. According to the telemarketers’ own estimate, 2.64 telemarketing calls per week-more than 137 calls annually-were directed at an average consumer before the do-not-call list came into effect.”
The FCC praised the decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. “The National Do-Not-Call Registry is one of the most popular and successful consumer initiatives undertaken by the federal government and, along with the vast majority of our citizens, I commend the court for removing the shadow of judicial uncertainty,” said FCC Chairman Michael Powell.
The day after the 10th Circuit decision, the FCC released complaint numbers regarding violations of its telemarketing rules. The commission received more than 4,000 complaints in October, more than 2,000 in November, more than 1,000 in both December and January and 867 complaints as of Feb. 17. Since the agency counts each phone call to its call center as an informal complaint, these numbers do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing. The FCC has issued eight citations after investigating some complaints.
Telemarketers now have two choices. They can either ask the full 10th Circuit to review the panel’s decision or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
