The Federal Trade Commission has banned telemarketers from making prerecorded commercial telemarketing calls to consumers unless they obtain permission in writing from consumers who want to receive such calls.
The ban takes effect Sept. 1.
After that date, telemarketers who violate this rule will face penalties of up to $16,000 per call, according to the FTC.
However, this new prohibition does not apply to calls from politicians, banks, telephone carriers and most charitable organizations or other recorded calls as long as they don’t try to sell anything, according other FTC.
In addition, the ban does not apply to debt-collection calls that s do not seek to promote the sale of any goods or services.
The new requirement is part of amendments to the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule that were announced a year ago.
