FCC Announces First Do-Not-Call Citation

An anonymous reader writes "The FCC will announce on Thursday December 18, its first enforcement action for violations of the new national Do-Not-Call list. The perp is a mortgage broker (big users of telemarketing, junk faxes, and spam) in California -- CPM Funding, Inc. No fines (yet) since the FCC can only impose fines on telemarketers after they have had one citation letter (which this is). If, perhaps, a common carrier was to violate however (can you say MCI, AT&T, etc) they can be fined up to $11,000 right off the bat.... no warnings. (The action against AT&T a couple of months ago was for other violations, not violating the new National DNC list.)"

Comments

Re:Suing the local police?

[cpeterso]

The politicians write the rules. When you write the rules, they don't have to apply to you. :(

sitting ducks, lying marketdroids

[Doc Ruby]

Some sleazoid called me during dinnertime last night, claiming to be from "CRM", "we're not selling anything, we're just doing a survey". When I asked him to remove me from the list, he told me that they don't use a list; they randomly generate phone numbers. I assume they use a wardialer to call down the random list, turning the call over to a "human" operator when a person is detected answering the call.

The "Do Not Call" law should be a simpler law that covers the actual problem. It should outlaw "unsolicited commercial transmission" in any medium. Opt-in would count as "solicitation". Otherwise, each new medium and hybrid will drown in these spams until Congress is forced to act. The agency administering the law should have comprehensive jurisdiction, if the FCC + FTC aren't sufficient. Transmissions from *official* political organizations (government), including the police department, in an official capacity, are allowed, for public safety and administration. Not to mention that they are legally controlled by the public, unlike corporations. I realize that until we get fat clowns like Karl Rove, with his Direct Marketing junkmail career, out of the Washington catbird seats, spam will be part of our lives. But articulating an alternative solution, that we can consistently demand, at least paves the way out.