[wordup] Court blocks Do Not Call Registry

[Adam Shand]

Weak sauce ... ditch your landline and just use a cell.  It's cheaper in 
the States anyway ...

From: http://www.msnbc.com/news/971221.asp?0cv=CA01&cp1=1

Court blocks Do Not Call Registry

MSNBC News Services

A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission overstepped 
its authority in creating the national do-not-call list against 
telemarketers. The ruling Tuesday came in a lawsuit brought by 
telemarketers who challenged the list of 50 million people who said they 
do not want to receive business solicitation calls. The list was to go 
into effect Oct. 1.

U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE Lee R. West said the main issue in the case was 
"whether the FTC had the authority to promulgate a national do-not-call 
registry. The court finds it did not."

In its decision, the court said existing laws give the FTC authority to 
curb abusive telemarketing practices, but that any national do-not-call 
list must be handled by the Federal Communications Commission.

"This decision is clearly incorrect," FTC Chairman Timothy Muris said in 
a written statement. "We will seek every recourse to give American 
consumers a choice to stop unwanted telemarketing calls."

Muris did not say whether the FTC would appeal the decision or turn over 
the list to the FCC. An FCC spokesman did not return several calls.

The measure would have enabled consumers to block most unsolicited sales 
calls by placing their home and mobile phone numbers on the no-call 
list. Telemarketers would have faced fines of up to $11,000 per call if 
they called any of the 50 million phone numbers collected by the FTC.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., and 
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said Wednesday they were confident the 
ruling would be overturned and believe Congress did give the FTC the 
necessary authority. "We will continue to monitor the situation and will 
take whatever legislative action is necessary to ensure consumers can 
stop intrusive calls from unwanted telemarketers," they said in a joint 
statement. The House committee authorized the list.

"I suspect the courthouse in Oklahoma would want to add itself to the 
'do not call' database in order to protect itself from the millions of 
consumers who feel deeply about the right to be left alone by 
telemarketers," Rep. Ed Markey said.

The Direct Marketing Association Inc., one of the plaintiffs, said it 
was happy with the ruling, even though it "acknowledges the wishes of 
millions of U.S. consumers who have expressed their preferences not to 
receive telephone-marketing solicitations - as evidenced by the millions 
of phone numbers registered on the FTC list."

The suit was filed by DMA, U.S. Security, Chartered Benefit Services 
Inc., Global Contact Services Inc. and InfoCision Management Corp.

The telemarketing industry estimates the do-not-call list could cut its 
business in half, costing it up to $50 billion in sales each year.

More than a dozen states with do-not-call lists planned to add their 
lists to the national registry this summer, the FTC said.

Telemarketers would have to check the list every three months to see who 
doesn't want to be called. Those who call listed people could be fined 
up to $11,000 for each violation.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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