In December, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) submitted its biennial report to Congress on the use of the Do-Not-Call Registry as required under the Do-Not-Call Fee Extension Act of 2007. The report provides statistics on use of the list by consumers and businesses. However, as Venable attorneys Jeffrey D. Knowles and Jonathan L. Pompan write in the March 2012 edition of Electronic Retailer magazine, the report provides practical guidance for telemarketers and companies that provide leads to telemarketers when it comes to Do-Not-Call compliance.
Among that guidance is a lengthy discussion of the "existing business relationship" exception to the Do-Not-Call Rule, which is provided by provisions within the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”), and similar Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) regulations. The FTC’s report, Knowles and Pompan write, demonstrates that the exception is much narrower than many marketers believe. They also note that the FTC has enforced the Do-Not-Call regulations aggressively over the past several years and there is no indication that it intends to be any less vigilant in the future.
Click here to read their column, which is on page 38 of the publication.