The Direct Marketing Association will create an ethics committee strictly for teleservices, the association said today.
But the move is unlikely to forestall creation of a national do-not-call database by the Federal Trade Commission, or passage of several state do-not-call bills now pending.
The DMA said in a statement that members of the six-member yet-to-be named panel “will serve as an industry watchdog and will help enforce” its guidelines for ethical telephone marketing practices.
Under those rules, which basically mimic existing federal law, telemarketers at the outset of the call must truly identify themselves, accurately describe the product or service they are offering, and offer consumers the opportunity to opt out from receiving further telemarketing calls.
DMA members who violate those guidelines face censure, suspension or cancellation of their membership.
The DMA
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