| Comment Number: | OL-102588 |
| Received: | 11/27/2004 11:17:18 PM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | David Thede |
| State: | MD |
| Subject: | Trade Regulation Rule on Telemarketing Sales |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 310 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
This is a terrible idea. Using pre-recorded messages makes it much easier for companies to inundate us with unwanted messages, and makes it much harder to tell the company to stop (you cannot tell a recording, "I am on the do-not-call list"). The "established business relationship" loophole invites abuse. How do you prove, and how will the FTC prove, that a company did not think it had some kind of "established business relationship"? Instead of thinking up new loopholes for companies to use to harrass everyone with a phone, the FTC and FCC should put more effort into stemming the tide of unwanted, unwelcome solicitations that are flooding every avenue of electronic communication -- fax, email, telephones, and cell phones. It is incredible that it is legal for anyone, ever, to set up a machine to call thousands of phone numbers and deliver a recorded message badgering whoever answers the phone.