Announced Actions for September 9, 2003

Release of Commission report: The Federal Trade Commission yesterday submitted to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation a report on regulatory coordination in federal telemarketing laws. The Do Not Call Implementation Act requires that the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) each submit a report containing an analysis of the two agencies’ newly-revised regulations that govern telemarketing, including provisions that prohibit calling consumers who have entered their numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, which the FTC launched in June 2003. The Do Not Call Implementation Act also requires that the report contain: a discussion of inconsistencies between the two agencies’ regulations; the effects such inconsistencies would likely have on consumers and industry; and recommendations for remedying any regulatory inconsistencies. The FTC’s report states that “on the whole, the agencies have created consistent and complementary regulatory schemes, not only with regard to Do Not Call and call abandonment, but also other areas . . . such as calling time restrictions and transmission of Caller ID information.” The report notes some differences between the agencies’ regulations, and recommends that the two agencies closely monitor them to ensure that they do not result in negative consequences for either consumers or businesses. The report recommends that if any adverse result occurs, the two agencies should work together to reconcile the differences in their regulatory approaches. The FTC vote to approve the issuance of the report was 5-0. (FTC File No. R41101; staff contact is Catherine C. Harrington-McBride, 202-326-2452.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.