The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging the right of the Federal Trade Commission to administer a national “Do-Not-Call” registry of households opting not to be called by commercial telemarketers.
The high court’s decision leaves standing an appellate ruling in February 2004 that the FTC has a right to operate the list and to levy fines upon telemarketers in order to finance it. The list, which is administered jointly with the Federal Communications Commission, opened for enrollment in June 2003 and went into operation in October of last year.
The American Telemarketing Association, a trade association representing 650 call centers, consultants and telemarketing vendors, had joined with two commercial telemarketers — Mainstream Marketing Services and TMG Marketing — to file a complaint to invalidate the “Do-Not-Call” registry almost as soon as the FTC announced its intention in January 2003. Several U.S. district courts initially agreed that the FTC did not have the power to set up such a registry. But the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the list “directly advances the government’s important interests in safeguarding personal privacy and reducing the danger of telemarketing abuse without burdening an excessive amount of free speech.”
The three plaintiffs then asked the Supreme Court to consider the case on the constitutional grounds that the registry violated their right to free speech, since it exempted phone solicitation by political and charitable organizations. None of the plaintiffs responded to requests for comment at press time.
The Direct Marketing Association, which represents 5,100 member companies including much of the telemarketing industry, supported the early stages of the legal challenge but decided to bow out of those efforts after the appellate court ruling earlier this year. DMA president and CEO John A. Greco, Jr., said the denial of Supreme Court Review would not change his members’ commitment to respecting the wishes of consumers not to be called.
The national “Do-Not-Call” registry now contains approximately 63 million phone numbers, mostly residential, according to the FTC. Telemarketers can be fined up to $11,000 per call for phoning “Do Not Call” registrants. In fact, the FTC announced on Sept. 1, 2004, its first suit against an alleged violator who called 300,000 names on the list.
Indications are that the national registry has been a great consumer success. A 2004 Harris Interactive poll indicated that 57% of the adult U.S. population were served by phone numbers now on the list. Ninety-two percent of that segment reported getting fewer telemarketing calls, and 25% reported a halt to all telemarketing calls.
On September 29, 2004, a team of seven FTC managers instrumental in setting up the national “Do-Not-Call” registry were awarded the Service to America medal, a nonpartisan award for outstanding public service by government officials.
Network
