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| FTC | RIN: 3084-AA98 | Publication ID: Spring 2006 |
| Title: Telemarketing Sales Rule | |
| Abstract: This rulemaking is related to RIN 3084-AA86. In 1995, the Commission issued the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), 16 CFR part 310, under the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (TSR Act), 15 U.S.C. 6101 to 6108. The TSR requires telemarketers to disclose information; prohibits misrepresentations; limits the times telemarketers may call consumers; prohibits calls to consumers who ask not to be called again; and sets payment restrictions for the sale of certain goods and services. In the fall 2003 Agenda, the Commission reported that it had completed its review of the TSR as required by the TSR Act. Among other changes, the amended TSR established the National Do-Not-Call Registry, enabling consumers to register their preference not to receive telemarketing calls (68 FR 4580; Jan. 29, 2003). To date, consumers have registered over 100 million telephone numbers on the Registry, which accepts home land line and personal cell phone numbers at http://www.donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222. On July 31, 2003, the Commission published a Final Rule further amending the TSR by establishing the fees that would be charged to entities engaged in telemarketing that access the National Do-Not-Call Registry (68 FR 45134). The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004, Public Law No. 188-199, 188 Stat. 3, Division B, title V (Appropriations Act), required that the Federal Trade Commission amend the TSR within 60 days of enactment to require telemarketers subject to the TSR to obtain from the FTC the list of telephone numbers on the National Do-Not-Call Registry once a month. After notice and comment, the Federal Trade Commission amended the TSR on March 23, 2004, requiring that telemarketers subject to the Rule access the National Do-Not-Call Registry and purge numbers on the registry from their call lists every month, instead of every quarter as the Rule originally required, and also allowing a consumer to assert a valid do-not-call complaint 30 days after entering his or her number rather than waiting 3 months as originally required (69 FR 16368; Mar. 29, 2004)(Final Rule); (69 FR 7330; Feb. 13, 2004)(NPRM). In the Appropriations Act, Congress also authorized the Commission to collect fees of $23.1 million in fiscal year 2004 to implement and enforce the amended TSR. On July 30, 2004, the Commission published a final rule revising the fees charged for industry access to the National Do-Not-Call Registry (69 FR 45580) (Final Rule); (69 FR 23701; Apr. 30, 2004) (NPRM). On April 22, 2005, the Commission published a new NPRM to revise the fees charged the industry for access to the National Do-Not-Call Registry (70 FR 20848). The comment period ended on June 1, 2005, and the Commission thereafter announced a revised fee schedule that became effective on September 1, 2005 (70 FR 43273; July 27, 2005). The Commissions final rule revised the fee structure so that entities are required to pay $56 per area code (formerly $40), or $15,400 for any entity accessing 280 area codes or more (formerly $11,000). Entities will still be able to obtain the first five area codes of data at no cost, and exempt entities may still access the Registry for free. During May 2006, staff anticipates that the Commission will publish a new NPRM to revise the fees charged the industry for access to the National Do-Not-Call Registry. In response to a series of requests for advisory opinions, the Commission also published an NPRM on November 17, 2004, proposing to permit prerecorded message telemarketing when there is an established business relationship between the caller and a consumer as long as a consumer has the opportunity to make a do not call request at the outset of the message. At the same time and in response to a request for reconsideration on the FTC's calculation of the percentage of abandoned calls for each day, the NPRM also requested comments and factual information supporting a requested switch from the current policy of measuring the 3 percent abandoned call ratio from a per day calculation to an average of calls abandoned over a 30-day period. The NPRM also stated that, pending completion of the rulemaking, the FTC would not enforce the TSR's current call abandonment provisions against callers who engage in prerecorded message telemarketing when there is an established business relationship provided that callers comply with the proposed requirements. The comment period closed on January 10, 2005, and staff anticipates forwarding its recommendation to the Commission by June 2006. | |
| Agency: Federal Trade Commission(FTC) | Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant |
| RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda | Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage |
| Major: No | Unfunded Mandates: No |
| CFR Citation: 16 CFR 310 | |
| Legal Authority: 15 USC 6101 to 6108 | |
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Legal Deadline:
None |
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Timetable:
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| Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No | Government Levels Affected: None |
| Small Entities Affected: Businesses | Federalism: No |
| Included in the Regulatory Plan: No | |
| RIN Information URL: www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/11/tsramend.htm | |
| Related RINs: Related to 3084-AA86 | |
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Agency Contact: David Robbins Attorney Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580 Phone:202 326-3747 Email: drobbins@ftc.gov |
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