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Tuesday, September 30, 2003
This "Do Not Call" Thing May Not Fly
I just got a call from the 902 area code (which includes scenic Nova Scotia, Canada). Hoping it was Register.com calling me to apologize profusely (they list a 902 number on their site for callers from outside North America who can't access the 877 number), I did the naive thing and actually answered my phone.
Unfortunately it was just a telemarketer (no doubt sitting a couple of rows down from the Register.com phone support folks in the same call center) trying to push a credit card on me.
This got me to thinking about the current legal skirmishes around "do not call" legislation. It's likely that telemarketing companies in the US are already plotting ways of getting around any legislation that comes out. This might include moving operations offshore, or at least to Canada.
Sure, the underlying companies who hire the telemarketers are no doubt still liable, but I imagine they'll be trying to shade every gray area to the max, and working on any loophole they can, even if it means setting up foreign subsidiaries or... ok, I'm getting ahead of myself, maybe... but I'm sure they'll think of something.
One way or another, telemarketers are going to be about as easy to stop as the tobacco companies. Maybe the bigger ones would let themselves get bought out by huge telcos, then let the telco lobbyists do their thing, if the courts don't overrule the legislation, that is. Too many gray areas, too much of a restriction on free speech. If the suit salesman, stockbroker, or insurance rep you deal with doesn't ask for your permission to "phone you occasionally" in just the right way, are their companies liable? It creates a huge quagmire.
Guess that means you shouldn't get rid of your call display just yet. Eventually, we'll have special "no call numbers" that we'll be able to buy for a premium, that will be listed but off limits to telemarketers. Advantage, phone company (again).
Posted by
Andrew Goodman
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D'oh!
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