This month’s editorial examines the issue of:

The National Do Not Call Registry:  How would you regulate it?  Should it apply to charities too?

In the U.S., the National Do Not Call Registry gives members of the public the opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. Telemarketers covered by the National Do Not Call Registry have up to three months from the date a consumer registers to stop calling that person. 

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, manages the National Do Not Call Registry.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state law enforcement officials will enforce it. 

The registry was created to offer consumers a choice regarding telemarketing calls. The FTC's decision to create the National Do Not Call Registry included a  three-year review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The FTC sought feedback from interested parties and considered over 64,000 public comments, most of which favored creating the registry. (View the entire record of the Rule review at www.ftc.gov/bcp/rulemaking/tsr/tsrrulemaking/index.htm). 

The National Do Not Call Registry is only for personal phone numbers. Business-to-business calls are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry and your phone number will remain on the registry for five years from the date you register.

Although placing your number on the National Do Not Call Registry will stop most telemarketing calls, it will not stop all of them because of limitations in the jurisdiction of the FTC and FCC.  Calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you've provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls.

Charities are not covered by the requirements of the national registry. However, if a third-party telemarketer is calling on behalf of a charity, a consumer may ask not to receive any more calls from, or on behalf of, that specific charity. If a third-party telemarketer calls again on behalf of that charity, the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000. 

In Canada, our Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has lagged behind, relying on industry self-regulation. Telemarketers here are supposed to identify themselves, their victims, and give a toll-free number for feedback.

In May 2004, the CRTC announced new rules for company-specific "do not call" lists. Telemarketers would be required to follow specific identification procedures when calling.

The CRTC already requires telemarketers to keep company-specific "do not call" lists, but proposed adding another requirement for telemarketers to act immediately on "do not call" requests made by a customer. A customer would no longer be required to call another number or do anything further.

Currently, the CRTC can issue an order that telephone service to a telemarketer be suspended or disconnected within two business days and also an order prohibiting all service providers from reconnecting that telemarketer for a set period. Theoretically, the  CRTC also can initiate a criminal prosecution. 

Recently, the CRTC has agreed to temporarily suspend the implementation of new rules for telemarketers following an application by the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA). 

The CMA has asked for a review of and changes to the following rules: 

      Requirement to issue a unique registration number to customers who make do not call requests

      Requirement to provide caller identification information and a toll-free number to the first person who answers the telephone, prior to ascertaining whether this person is the intended called party

      Requirement for a live operator, as opposed to an interactive voice mail system, during regular business hours

      Application of the rules to business-to-business telephone solicitations and to calls from businesses to existing customers

The Canadian Federal Government is now proposing Do Not Call list legislation again.  Legislation that would have set up such a system died when the federal election was called last spring.

Beginning Oct. 1. telemarketers are required to issue a unique registration number each time someone asks to be put on a Do Not Call list. If the telemarketer persists, consumers can use the number as proof of their don't-call request in a formal complaint.  

If companies keep calling, the CRTC says consumers should complain to their telephone company for help. Phone companies can threaten to cut service to errant telemarketers, says the CRTC web site.  If that doesn’t work, the CRTC says it will pursue complaints.

A hypothetical question then would be, what if this Do Not Call Legislation were suddenly proposed as applicable for Charities?  What would your arguments for or against that be?  How would you regulate it?