Telemarketers would have to reveal their identities and telephone numbers to a consumer’s caller identification equipment under a bill approved in the House Tuesday.
The Know Your Caller Act (HR-90), passed by a two-thirds voice vote, now goes to the Senate for review by its Commerce Committee’s communications and consumer affairs subcommittees chaired by Sens. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), respectively.
The measure also includes a provision supported by the Direct Marketing Association that prohibits the selling, leasing, or trading of consumer do-not-call lists which telemarketers are required to maintain under a separate law.
Despite the vast number of reputable telemarketers in the country, nearly 37,000 consumer complaints were filed with various government agencies, both state and federal, last year about telemarketers. Among them were concerns about telemarketers selling or trading their do-not-call lists, Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin (R-LA), who brought the measure to the floor, noted in a statement.
“This bill allows consumers to control the communications going to and from their homes,” Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), said in a statement.
Network
