The American Teleservices Association has filed a petition in court asking a judge to stop the new Federal Communications Commission telemarketing regulations from implementation. The petition also asks that the judge postpone enactment of the regulations until the court has reviewed them.
The FCC rules are slated to go into effect Oct. 1. That’s also the date for marketers to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s amended telemarketing regulations.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver on Friday, says that by exempting nonprofits and politicians from having to comply with the national do-not-call list, the FCC creates two classes of speech, said Tim Searcy, executive director of the ATA.
"What they are saying is that there is a class of speech that you choose not to listen to and another class of speech you are being forced to listen to and that’s violating the First Amendment," Searcy said.
The petition also says that the legislation the FCC is operating under called for the FCC to "balance consumer privacy interests with First Amendment issues and to not create rules that had an adverse economic impact," Searcy said.
He added, "In both cases, the FCC failed to meet its statutory obligations under the law."
Calling the telemarketing rules implemented by the FCC and the FTC "a terrible blow to commercial enterprise," Searcy also complained that the FCC submitted their rules two months ahead of time.
"It’s impossible to believe that the comments submitted by the ATA and others could have been weighed in such a short period of time," Searcy said.
The ATA, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, filed a lawsuit in February against the FTC, asking the federal court judge to block implementation of the FTC’s rules.
