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Nader Urges FCC to Enforce Law Against Telemarketers
Commercial Alert January 25, 1999
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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: For More Information Contact:
Monday, January 25, 1999 Gary Ruskin (202) 296-2787
Nader Urges FCC to Enforce Law Against Telemarketers Who Use
Celebrity Voices in Recorded Calls to People’s Homes
Responding to news reports that telemarketing firms are
using celebrities’ recorded voices in unsolicited calls to
people’s homes, Ralph Nader and Commercial Alert today sent a
letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging that
they enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) against
these telemarketers.
The letter to William Kennard, Chairman of the FCC, states
that: “We believe that these unsolicited celebrity telemarketing
calls are an invasion of the sanctity and privacy of the home.
They are a public nuisance, and a form of harassment. They
intrude upon the family dinner table, the precious time that
parents get to spend with their children. This is family time;
it should not be an advertising zone for every huckster in
America with something to sell.”
On January 13, The Washington Post reported on a celebrity
telemarketing call from Dick Clark: "Hi, this is Dick Clark. I'm
sorry to reach you at home, but I just wanted to call your
attention to a television special I produced. It's called ‘The
American Music Awards’ and it's on ABC, Channel 7, Monday night
at 8 o'clock. It's really the biggest music party of the year.
It's called ‘The American Music Awards,’ lots of celebrities and
terrific performances. It's a huge star-studded live event, and I
hope you get a chance to watch. It's ‘The American Music Awards’
on Channel 7 Monday night. I think you'll like it. Hey, I'm sorry
to call you at home, but I just wanted to personally invite you
to watch. For more information, you can check out the Web site
www.americanmusicawards.com. Thanks so much."
In 1991, Congress approved the Telemarketing Consumer
Protection Act (TCPA) which prohibits telemarketing firms from
initiating telephone calls to any home using a recorded voice
without the prior consent of the called party, with some
exceptions, including emergencies and calls not made for
commercial purposes.
The letter states that “If the FCC does not undertake
enforcement actions against these telemarketing firms, then it
should initiate a rule-making to require that celebrity
telemarketers must leave their actual home telephone numbers on
any recorded message that telemarketers use to place unsolicited
telemarketing calls to people’s homes. The FCC could require
that the celebrity telemarketers disclose their actual home phone
number that they use in practice on a daily or regular basis –
not a phone number set up for this or any other special purpose.”
Commercial Alert was founded last year to oppose the
excesses of commercialism, advertising and marketing. The web
address for Commercial Alert is
<http://www.essential.org/alert/>.
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Following is the text of the letter:
January 25, 1999
William E. Kennard
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20554
RE: Enforcement Against Telemarketers Who Use
Celebrities’ Recorded Voices in Calls to
People’s Homes
Dear Chairman Kennard:
We request that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA)
against telemarketing firms that use celebrities’ recorded voices
in unsolicited telemarketing calls to people’s homes. Many of
these calls, as described in news reports, appear to violate the
TCPA, which prohibits telemarketing firms from initiating
telephone calls to any home using a recorded voice without the
prior consent of the called party, with some exceptions,
including emergencies and calls not made for commercial purposes.
The Washington Post reported that telemarketing firms are
employing celebrities’ voices for recorded phone messages. The
Post transcribed one such telemarketing call from celebrity Dick
Clark.
"Hi, this is Dick Clark. I'm sorry to reach
you at home, but I just wanted to call your
attention to a television special I produced.
It's called ‘The American Music Awards’ and
it's on ABC, Channel 7, Monday night at 8
o'clock. It's really the biggest music party
of the year. It's called ‘The American Music
Awards,’ lots of celebrities and terrific
performances. It's a huge star-studded live
event, and I hope you get a chance to watch.
It's ‘The American Music Awards’ on Channel 7
Monday night. I think you'll like it. Hey,
I'm sorry to call you at home, but I just
wanted to personally invite you to watch. For
more information, you can check out the Web
site www.americanmusicawards.com. Thanks so
much."
We believe that these unsolicited celebrity telemarketing
calls are an invasion of the sanctity and privacy of the home.
They are a public nuisance, and a form of harassment. They
intrude upon the family dinner table, the precious time that
parents get to spend with their children. This is family time;
it should not be an advertising zone for every huckster in
America with something to sell.
Courts have consistently held that privacy interests are
strongest in the home. For example, in Carey v. Brown, the
Supreme Court ruled that:
Preserving the sanctity of the home, the one
retreat to which men and women can repair to
escape from the tribulations of their daily
pursuits, is surely an important value. . . .
The State's interest in protecting the well
being, tranquility, and privacy of the home
is certainly of the highest order in a free
and civilized society.
We believe that these celebrity telemarketing calls, as
described in news reports, are unsolicited commercial calls, and
therefore are not exempted from the TCPA, when the telemarketing
calls are made by a commercial entity on behalf of another
commercial entity, and contain advertising content. For example,
the Dick Clark telemarketing calls were unsolicited
advertisements carried out by the Broadcast Team, a commercial
entity, on behalf of ABC television, another commercial entity.
If the FCC does not undertake enforcement actions against
these telemarketing firms, then it should initiate a rule-making
to require that celebrity telemarketers must leave their actual
home telephone numbers on any recorded message that telemarketers
use to place unsolicited telemarketing calls to people’s homes.
The FCC could require that the celebrity telemarketers disclose
their actual home phone number that they use in practice on a
daily or regular basis – not a phone number set up for this or
any other special purpose.
We strongly urge the FCC to use its authority to protect the
peace and quiet of the home against the intrusions of
telemarketers.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader
Gary Ruskin, Director
cc: Senator Ernest Hollings
Representative Edward Markey
Dorothy Attwood, Chief, Enforcement Division, Common Carrier
Bureau, FCC
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Commercial Alert is a Ralph Nader watchdog group working to
oppose the excesses of commercialism, advertising and marketing.
For more information, see <http://www.essential.org/alert/> or
call (202) 296-2787.
The Washington Post article on the use of celebrities’ voices for
telemarketing calls is located at:
<http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-01/13/100l-011399-idx.html>.
Commercial Alert is urging Members of Congress and state
legislators to enact “Family Hours” between 6 and 9 PM every
night, during which telemarketing firms could not place
unsolicited commercial calls to people’s homes. For more
information, see:
<http://www.essential.org/alert/family_hours.html>.
To subscribe to Commercial Alert send the message:
subscribe commercial-alert your name
to listproc@essential.org
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
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Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/alert/ | mailto:gary@essential.org
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