The Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act () is a
federal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...
in the United States aimed at protecting consumers from
telemarketing
Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent f ...
deception and abuse. The act is enforced by the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
. The act expanded controls over telemarketing and gave more control to prescribe rules to the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
. After the passage of the act, the Federal Trade Commission is required to (1) define and prohibit deceptive telemarketing practices; (2) keep telemarketers from practices a reasonable consumer would see as being coercive or invasions of privacy; (3) set restrictions on the time of day and night that unsolicited calls can be made to consumers; (4) to require the nature of the call to be disclosed at the start of any unsolicited call that is made with the purpose of trying to sell something.
Background
The Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act was deemed necessary in an advancing world. With the new waves of telemarketing and digital data Congress found that there are unique differences in telemarketing that deem new rules and regulations necessary.
Congressional Findings
It was determined that Telemarketing is different from other sales activities due to the fact that sales activities can be carried out by sellers across state lines without direct contact with the consumer. Telemarketers also can be very mobile, easily moving from state to state. With this being stated it is easy to see how there has been a rise in telemarketing fraud, which was found to be of such a magnitude that the Federal Trade Commission needed more resources to deal with it. There was found to be an estimated $40 billion a year lost to telemarketing fraud, and that consumers are victimized by non-monetary forms of telemarketing fraud as well. It was concluded that Congress should enact legislation to offer consumers protection from these telemarketing threats.
Enforcement and Challenges
As part of complying with the act the Federal Trade Commission put new provisions on telemarketing. These new regulations include the Do Not Call (DNC) provisions and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). However, with the establishment of these provisions, companies objected to it and some filed suits arguing their rights as a business were being infringed upon. While the 10th circuit court ruled in favor of industry in regards to rules on customer proprietary network information earlier making it seem as though industry was going to win all consumer data cases; when industry objected to the DNC the court ruled in favor of the government stating that the Federal Trade Commission has a right to make and enforce the DNC provision.
In April 2018, a divided panel of the
found that the FTC had not violated the
Administrative Procedure Act when it issued a 2016 staff letter reversing the conclusion of a 2009 staff letter that had found use of
soundboard technology did not violated the act.
References
External links
Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Actentry in FTC Legal Library
As codified in 15 U.S.C. chapter 87of the
United States Code
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from the
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As codified in 15 U.S.C. chapter 87of the
United States Code
In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
from the
US House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention ActPDFdetails
as amended in the GPO GPO may refer to:
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br>Statute Compilations collection
Summaries for the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, Library of Congress, (1994)
Privacy Law: Positive Theory and Normative Practice; Anita L. Allen; 2013
Q&A for Telemarketers & Sellers About DNC Provisions in TSR; Federal Trade Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telemarketing And Consumer Fraud And Abuse Prevention Act
United States federal communications legislation
Telemarketing
United States federal commerce legislation
103rd United States Congress