Court stands pat on do not call

February 19, 2004

Federal registry survives telemarketers' legal challenge


Inman News

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit today rendered a judgment that allows the federal government to continue operating the National Do Not Call Registry in its current form. The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission operated and enforce the registry, which contains 56 million residential telephone numbers of people who don't want to receive unsolicited business marketing calls.

The Direct Marketing Association, which represents telemarketing companies, had challenged the federal regulations on free-speech grounds. The organization today said it will weigh its options and review the ruling with its legal counsel.

"Regardless of where we go from here, we will follow the law and hold steady to the pledge we made to consumers when the do-not-call list was in legal limbo last fall: Our industry will respect the wishes of consumers who have placed their household telephone numbers on the do-not-call list," said H. Robert Wientzen, CEO of the association.

Copyright: Inman News Features


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