1000 Sign-ups a minute for the "National Don't Call Me with Your Garbage Registry!"

Yahoo! ^ | June 27, 2003 | Andy Sullivan

[PeaceCorpsGuy]

370,000 Sign Up for Anti-Telemarketing List 1 hour, 30 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One thousand people per second signed up Friday to get on a free "do not call" list that will prevent telemarketers from bothering them at home, swamping telephone lines and a Web site set up to handle demand.

Reuters Photo

Eager Americans rushed to place their home phone numbers on the Federal Trade Commission's list shortly after President Bush (news - web sites) launched the measure in a White House ceremony.

By noon the list had grown to 370,000 and was increasing by 1,000 per second, the FTC said.

The do-not-call list should help Americans enjoy their private time without unwanted interruptions, Bush said a few hours after the list was opened up for registration.

"When Americans are sitting down to dinner or a parent is reading to his or her child, the last thing they need is a call from a stranger with a sales pitch," Bush said in a White House Rose Garden ceremony.

Telemarketers who call numbers on the list after Oct. 1 will face penalties of up to $11,000 per call, as well as possible consumer lawsuits.

Consumers can sign up for the list by logging on to (http://donotcall.gov), while those living west of the Mississippi river can also register by calling 1-888-382-1222.

Consumers will not have to pay to get on the list, as it will be funded by telemarketers.

Plunging long-distance rates and computerized dialers have led to a five-fold increase in telemarketing calls over the past decade, prompting a deluge of consumer complaints.

The FTC announced plans for the list last year, and Congress approved it shortly afterward. The list will also include mobile phone numbers.

Do-not-call lists have proven popular in the roughly 25 states that have set them up. In Minnesota, for example, roughly half of the state's 2.2 million residential lines have subscribed.

FTC officials ultimately expect 60 million households to sign up for the national list, prompting the agency to delay telephone-based registration until July 7 for those living east of the Mississippi in an effort to handle demand.

Individuals across the country said they had trouble getting on to the Web site Friday morning, or were kicked off once they started the registration process.

FTC spokeswoman Cathy MacFarlane said consumers don't need to rush as they have all summer to sign up, and will not see a drop-off in telemarketing calls until Oct. 1.

Consumers will also be able to sign up for the list after the summer.

The list does not cover all callers. Nonprofit and political callers will be free to ignore it, but will have to honor consumer requests not to be called back. Businesses will be free to call customers for 18 months after making a sale, but they too will have to honor opt-out requests.

Telemarketing groups have sued to scratch the effort, arguing that it abridges free-speech rights, and say it could decimate an industry that employs 2 million.

Privacy advocate Jason Catlett, who has pushed for a national list for years, said he has little sympathy for their plight.

"Free speech doesn't give you the right to pester people in their homes when they don't want to be pestered," said Catlett, president of Junkbusters Corp., which helps clients avoid unwanted commercial pitches.

[PeaceCorpsGuy]

Guess I'm not the only one who is tired of being disturbed during dinner!

[omega4412]

Now we need similar lists for junk mail and spam

[billbears]

Now we need similar lists for junk mail and spam

Yes, by all means. Heaven knows we need the national government to regulate something else for us don't we? The new 'conservative' agenda: Don't like it? Have the national government pass a law against it.

[discostu]

I don't mind junkmail, they pay to send it, I don't pay to receive it, and some of it makes good kindling. It's the phonecalls and e-mails I hate, I pay to receive that, and it doesn't burn well. IMHO they should all go back to regulation junkmail, the only time the post office was profitable was during the junkmail boom of the early 90s, you can argue that it actually save us money by keeping the post office from raising rates.

[PeaceCorpsGuy]

FCC Chairman Powell noted during the White House Cermony that email spam will be targeted next

[SoDak]

Start printing out your e-mails.

[discostu]

It's not the same, I paid for that paper, I could burn it without printing stuff on it. The stuff they send me is completely free. It also helps the complex I live in puts a big trashcan right next to the mailboxes, junkmail has 5 feet to prove its use.

[SC_Republican]

Yes, by all means. Heaven knows we need the national government to regulate something else for us don't we? The new 'conservative' agenda: Don't like it? Have the national government pass a law against it.

Believe it or not, some laws are actually good.

[SoDak]

I was being silly.

[discostu]

I know, I'm being a straightman.

[agrace]

Been trying for 2 hours to get my registration completely processed. Obviously the site is completely overwhelmed. I'd love to see the remaining list of numbers they can actually call when registration trickles off. Hopefully it will be frustratingly short.

[50sDad]

I get a dozen spams a week trying to sell me stuff for the septic tank I don't own. When I filtered for "septic" they started coming as "Fix your S E P T I C tank" and "You 2 can Fix your S-E-P-T-I-C tank". (Nevermind the people who want to sell me "V1aGrA"!) These people should be the first ones up against the wall when the Revolution comes. I rank them a step above the "toner pirates" who regularly call me at work and advise "Yeah, this is Frank at the warehouse...your toner is going up but I can get you a skid at the old price...what is your model number again?" ("Shouldn't you know my model, Frank? And that it comes free with my copier agreement?" )

[Lee'sGhost]

You know, billbears, I usually agree with you, but . . .

Seems to me that this is the type of thing government should be doing. If you want salesmen calling you all the time, then simply do nothing. If don't, put your name on the list. I wish government would do more stuff like that.

Let's see, if you want to continue receiving power generated from nuclear plants -- do nothing. If you don't, put your name on the list to have your power terminated.

I bet there's a million of 'em.

I like it! I think it could actually cut DOWN on government intrusion, shrink the size of government, and save us all money.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I'm one of those 1000 per second folks.

[billbears]

Laws like this at the national level? No, not according to the Constitution. At the state level? I have no problem with it. Oh, I forgot, SCOTUS destroyed what was left of the 10th Amendment yesterday

[Lee'sGhost]

"mmmm....FOOTBALL"

Any opin on the ACC expansion?

[billbears]

See #15. At the state government level, I have no issue with such laws. Should have clarified. Sorry about that :)

[somedaysoon]

Glad Ky. did this 2 years ago. It cut out about 99% of the unwanted calls.

[RogueIsland]

Laws like this at the national level? No, not according to the Constitution

This is pretty clearly interstate commerce, and it has been well established in this country that the fedgov can regulate that. Too often, they push the bounds of what can justifiably be called interstate commerce, but this isn't one of them.

[Lee'sGhost]

You know, this SCOTUS thing is way bigger than the public reaction would indicate. Rush (and you) are right. This is so much bigger than the issue the ruling applies to. And the sheeple don't have a clue. What do we need states or elected officials for when it's really 9 people who make the laws of the land.