SCHUMER REVEALS: HOUSE BILL WOULD ALLOW TELEMARKETERS TO FLOOD PERSONAL CELL PHONES ENDING DO NOT CALL RESTRICTIONS; VOWS TO BLOCK BILL TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM ANNOYING, UNWANTED, AND REPETITIVE CALLS
Bill Moving Through House Would End Restrictions on Cell Phone Telemarketing; Schumer Urges Congress to Abandon Legislation and Vows that Bill Will Be Dead on Arrival In the Senate
Bill Introduced In House of Representatives Last Month Would Revoke Two-Decade Old Prohibition on Automated Calls to Consumer Cell Phones, Opening Floodgates to Unwanted Calls from Telemarketers and Collection Agencies
Schumer: This Bill Would Reverse One of the Most Significant Consumer Protections and Allow Telemarketers to Call Cell Phones All Day Long
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer revealed that a bill advancing in the House of Representatives would revoke the current prohibition on automated calls to consumers' cell phones and open up the flood gates for unsolicited marketing and collection calls to cell phone users. The Mobile Information Call Act, sponsored by U.S. Representative Lee Terry (R-NE), Vice-Chairman of the subcommittee on Communications and Technology, would revoke the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibition on automatic calls for "informational purposes." The bill would allow private companies to automatically dial, at will, Americans' cell phones and would be a major reversal in consumer protections for the 83% of Americans that now own cell phones. Schumer pointed out that these unwanted calls could drive up consumers' cell phone bills by using up consumers' cell phone minutes. Schumer called on the House of Representatives to abandon the bill and vowed that that he would mount an aggressive effort to block the bill in the Senate.
"This bill is a Trojan Horse for private companies, who under the guise of 'providing information,' are seeking to scale the walls of protection we have already put in place to protect consumers from having their cell phones deluged by telemarketers," said Schumer. "For twenty years, consumers have been protected from receiving auto-generated messages from telemarketers on their cell phones. But this House bill would toss out those protections, leaving consumers to deal with annoying and unwanted calls all day long."
Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991 in response to concerns about the increasing prevalence of telemarketers calling consumer's homes with automated and prerecorded messages. The FCC then adopted rules that barred auto dialers from calling cell phones without the consumer's consent. The FCC went even further in 2003, establishing the National Do-Not-Call List, allowing individuals to bar any telemarketers from calling them.
The Mobile Information Call Act of 2011, now making its way through the House, would completely revoke all prohibition on making automatic calls to consumer cell phones by allowing businesses to contact consumers for "informational purposes," reversing twenty years of consumer protections from these unwanted calls. While companies supporting the bill argue that these automatic calls would be used to deliver important consumer information quickly, the bill would effectively allow all businesses, including telemarketers, to autodial consumers without their consent, regardless of the "informational" value of the information. The House held a hearing on the bill two weeks ago. The bill is supported by the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, the American Bankers Association, and the Student Loan Servicing Association, among others.
Schumer called on the House of Representatives to abandon the legislation and vowed to block it in the Senate if it passes the House. He also urged New Yorkers to contact their representatives in Congress to urge them to oppose the bill. Schumer noted that allowing businesses to autodial consumers would open the door for telemarketers, collections agencies, and marketers of all-stripes to make mass calls to the 83% of American adults that now own cell phones. Schumer also pointed out that the increase in calls can drive up cell phone bills for consumers, many of who now use smart phones with calling limits on their plans that could be used up by these unwanted calls.
"There is nothing more intrusive than telemarketers calling in the middle of dinner when families are home from work and school," continued Schumer. "If this bill were to pass, not only would we have to worry about being interrupted at dinner, but we could expect calls during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, no matter if we're at home, school, or the office. If companies want to call consumers' cells phones, they can ask permission. We shouldn't give them open permission to call whenever they'd like."