Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Court Says 'Do Not Call' List Can Proceed

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 21:25:26 -0400

Court Says 'Do Not Call' List Can Proceed
 
Tue October 7, 2003
 
By Andy Sullivan and Judith Crosson

WASHINGTON/DENVER (Reuters)

Telemarketers may not dial the 51 million phone numbers on the national "do not
call" list while a U.S. appeals court decides whether their free-speech rights are
being violated, the court said on Tuesday.

The decision clears the way for the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the
popular anti-telemarketing program, which had been thrown into legal limbo by a
lower court decision days before it was to take effect.

The legal status of the list is still not resolved as the U.S. Court of Appeals in
Denver must determine whether it unconstitutionally discriminates between
commercial and charitable calls, which are not subject to the no-call rule.

But until then, the FTC will be able to fine telemarketers up to $11,000 for each
time they call numbers on the list. Consumers will be able to sign up if they have
not yet done so, and thousands of telemarketing companies that still do not have
the list will be able to purchase a copy.

In its decision, a three-judge panel said the privacy interests of millions of
Americans outweigh the economic harm that telemarketers would likely suffer.

"We conclude that the public does have strong privacy and expectation interests
that weigh in favor of granting this stay pending review of the merits," the
judges said.

The decision should bring some clarity to what has been a confusing legal
situation.

After U.S. District Court Judge Edward Nottingham said the FTC could not implement
the list, another agency, the Federal Communications Commission, said it would
handle enforcement.

But Nottingham's order prevented the FTC from giving the list to the FCC, or to
telemarketers who did not yet have a copy.

The two agencies will now be able to enforce the list together.

"This is an important victory for American consumers," FTC Chairman Timothy Muris
said in a statement. "We will now proceed to implement and enforce the Do Not Call
Registry."

"This means better protection from unwanted calls for the tens of millions of
Americans who asked not to be bothered," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said.

The FTC will likely need several days to get the list up and running again, as it
took several days to shut it down after Nottingham's decision.

The appeals court had earlier declined a request by telemarketers to stop the FCC
as well, and on Tuesday combined the two cases into one. Oral arguments are set
for November 10 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The court said the FTC stands a good chance of winning its case.

"We conclude there is a substantial likelihood that the FTC will be able to show
... that the list directly advances the government's substantial interest and is
narrowly tailored," the judges said.

The American Teleservices Association, which initiated the suit, said it told its
members to comply with the list, and said it was encouraged that the case would be
heard so soon.

Several lawmakers welcomed the decision, with both Louisiana Republican Rep. Billy
Tauzin and North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan characterizing it as "common
sense."

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3574170

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