November 2007
DNC.com Monthly Compliance Update
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Table of Contents
Featured Article: The FTC's Modest Proposal: A Permanent DNC Registry
State Holiday Alerts: State DNC Restrictions for October and November Holidays
Federal Trade Commision settles six Do Not Call cases for nearly $7.7 million in fines
Federal Trade Commission agrees to delay purge of Do Not Call list
Federal Trade Commission dismisses rumors regarding separate cell phone registry
The federal Do Not Call list now exceeds over 150 million registered numbers
Featured Article
by Joseph Sanscrainte
Joseph Sanscrainte is an attorney with Bryan Cave, LLP, specializing in telemarketing law.
Visit us at DNC.com for information on contacting Joseph Sanscrainte.
Many in the teleservices world have eagerly been awaiting "D-Day" ? June 27th, 2008 - the day when telephone numbers are scheduled to start dropping off the FTC's national DNC registry. Savvy telemarketers have long anticipated this date as the opening of a window of opportunity allowing them to contact those consumers whose numbers have fallen off the registry.
Savvy (and not-so-savvy) telemarketers take note ? the window has been slammed shut!
When the FTC launched the registry in June of 2003, it was with the understanding that numbers registered on the list would only stay on it for five years. The FTC, in fact, devoted a great deal of attention to the question of how long numbers should remain on the registry. Recognizing the mobility of the American populace, the FTC determined that "the length of time registrations remain valid directly affects the overall accuracy of the national registry."
Although the FTC implemented a method whereby disconnected numbers would be purged on an on-going basis, it nonetheless determined that "a five-year registration period coupled with the periodic purging of disconnected telephone numbers from the registry adequately balances, on the one hand, the need to maintain a high level of accuracy in the national registry and, on the other hand, the onus on consumers to periodically re-register their telephone numbers."
Fast forward to October 23, 2007 - the FTC, perhaps taking into account political realities associated with the very popular list, adopted a new philosophy. In testimony before the House of Representatives, the Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, Lydia Parnes, announced that the FTC "now commits that it will not drop any telephone numbers from the Registry based on the five-year expiration period pending final Congressional or agency action on whether to make the registration permanent."
In support of this new policy, the FTC noted certain changes that have occurred ? specifically pointing to the increased use of cell phones and the popularity of telephone number portability. These developments, along with clarification by the courts regarding privacy issues as well as the unprecedented popularity of the list, led the FTC to conclude that permanent DNC registration was required. U.S. Senate Bill 2096, introduced in September of 2007, perhaps also led the FTC to reconsider its policy. SB 2096 changes the law that lets the FTC collect fees in support of the national registry to specifically prevent the FTC from dropping any numbers off the list at any time.
Left unaddressed is how any of these changes impacts the FTC's original concerns with maintaining the accuracy of the list. A time limit was viewed by the FTC as a critical element to list accuracy ? a five-year subscription renewal policy providing the last line of defense against "orphan" numbers (that do not reflect any person's DNC wishes) remaining on the national registry.
The American Teleservices Association, in a press release that came out the same day as the FTC's testimony before Congress, stated that it would be in favor of a permanent registry if there was some assurance that it was being updated correctly. In support of this, the ATA has encouraged the FTC or Congress to require all phone companies to timely provide a complete record of all disconnected numbers so that all such numbers can be purged from the national registry on an ongoing basis.
The FTC sets a very high standard for the teleservices industry when it comes to DNC compliance ? perhaps it is not too much for the industry to ask the FTC to consider similar accuracy standards when it comes to maintaining a permanent national DNC registry?
Compliance Tools
QUESTIONS ABOUT DO NOT CALL REGULATIONS?
DNC.com is now offering a complimentary audio CD filled with 13 tracks of commentary from a panel of leading industry experts. Get detailed information on scrub lists, safe harbor provisions, exemptions, enforcement actions and more! To get your free CD visit DNC.com.
Outbound calling is prohibited in Alabama, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Utah on Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 in observance of Thanksgiving Day.
Outbound calling is prohibited in Louisiana on Friday, November 23rd, 2007 in observance of Acadian Day.
Outbound calling is prohibited in Alabama, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Utah on Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 in observance of Christmas Day.
Free Webinar
Contact Center Compliance and leading teleservices attorney, Joe Sanscrainte, will be hosting another in their popular series of compliance webinars at the beginning of the new year.
Do not miss attending this important event and learning the inside scoop on the recent FTC enforcement actions, which lead to $7.7 million in fines! Be one of the first 50 people to register and receive a free Starbuck's Gift Card.
Regulation Alerts
Six Do Not Call cases have been settled by the Federal Trade Commission with almost $7.7 million in fines levied against individuals and companies accused of violating federal DNC Registry requirements. This brings the total number of cases filed by the FTC in enforcement of Do Not Call rules and regulations to 34.
Under current Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules, all numbers on the national Do Not Call (DNC) list are set to be removed after 5 years to account for numbers that have changed or been disconnected. However, new bills being proposed in congress may either extend current registration to 2012 (H.R. 2601) or even make registration of numbers permanent (H.R. 3541 and S. 2096). While congress considers these various bills the FTC has agreed to delay the first purge, which would otherwise occur in June 2008.
In response to the circulation of emails containing rumors and misleading information regarding cell phone numbers and the Do Not Call registry, the Federal Trade Commission has posted information clarifying that there is still no separate DNC list for cell phones, cell phone numbers are not being released to telemarketers and under FCC regulations calls to cell phones are still prohibited by telemarketers using automated dialers.
The amount of registered numbers on the National Do Not Call registry continues to grow with the databse now exceeding 150 million numbers according to current estimates.
Contact Center Compliance Corporation
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All information contained in this newsletter has been researched to ensure accuracy. However, Contact Center Compliance will not be held legally responsible for the accuracy of this information and is not a substitution for legal counsel.