| Comment Number: | OL-100761 |
| Received: | 11/27/2004 1:37:58 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Mark Hoover |
| State: | MI |
| Subject: | Trade Regulation Rule on Telemarketing Sales |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
As a consumer and citizen who has already indicated my disposition to receiving unsolicited calls by adding my name to the Do Not Call Registry, I urge you to resist industry pressure and NOT weaken current rules. DMA's petition serves DMA's interests, not the interests of those who must suffer its unbidden calls. In simplest terms, people who added their names to the Do Not Call Registry wish to avoid being called by companies wishing to sell something. We don't care whether we technically have a business relationship with the caller. If we need further products or services from the seller, we can contact them ourselves. Naturally, we are concerned that the definition of what constitutes such a business relationship will inevitably be broadened and manipulated to the benefit of callers, and the detriment of those whose phones again start ringing. We view most, if not all, of the arguments put forward by the DMA and its allies in favor of the proposed loosenening of restrictions as specimens of sophistry. We know that these companies could hardly care less about the supposed benefits that may accrue to call recipients. They are interested in the benefits that accrue to them. We are tired, too, of the job-creation arguments. Capitalism is inventive and dynamic, and capital not invested in creating telemarketer jobs will be used to fuel other ventures. There are many, many jobs that could be created if society were to loosen its rules, say, on street sales of cocaine or on auction sites for stolen property. I'm not suggesting DMA and its cohorts are criminals like drug dealers or house burglars, but they are thieves nonetheless - thieves of the privacy and time of those they call. Please, stand firm, and continue to enforce all provisions of the current laws and rules as they stand. DMA is using this petition not as an end in itself, but as a beginning. If this petition succeeds, DMA will be encouraged to continue working to roll back others of our hard-won protections. The camel begins by sticking only his nose under the wall of the tent...