Senate Bill Would Give DNC Registry Eternal Life
A bill introduced in the Senate would extend without limit the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to collect list fees from the national Do Not Call registry.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), would give the FTC indefinite authority to collect fees from companies looking to access the lists for their telemarketing campaigns. That authority is currently set to expire at the end of this year.
Telemarketers must match the list against their phone call lists monthly to exclude any consumers that have signed up. They pay $56 per area code annually, or $15,400 to access the national registry. Those fees go to fund the administration of the registry.
Since its inception in 2003, the Do Not Call registry has grown to more than 142 million phone numbers in the U.S. The FTC has pursued civil lawsuits against 52 individuals and 73 corporations for failing to adhere to the registry, seeking civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation.
