Release Date: March 28, 2002
The Federal Trade Commission has extended the public comment period for proposed changes to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). A Federal Register notice announcing the extension of the public comment period until April 15, 2002 will be published shortly.
In late January, the Commission announced a proposal to amend the TSR by, among other things, creating a centralized national "Do Not Call" registry. The proposed registry would enable consumers to eliminate most telemarketing calls simply by making one call to the FTC. The proposal is a key component of the privacy initiative that FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris announced in early October 2001.
Proposed Amendments
The highlights of the FTC's proposed amendments are provided below. A detailed summary of these proposals can be found in the notice of proposed rulemaking, which has been published in the Federal Register and is available at www.ftc.gov.
Through the proposed rulemaking, the Commission is seeking to:
Opportunity for Public Comment
Six paper copies of each written comment regarding the proposed amendments should be sent by April 15, 2002 to: FTC, Office of the Secretary, Room 159, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. All comments should also be submitted, if possible, electronically on computer disk, with a label stating the name of the commenter and the name and version of the word processing program used to create the document. In addition, the Commission will accept comments that are submitted to the following e-mail address: tsr@ftc.gov, if the information is organized in sequentially numbered paragraphs. All written comments and electronic submissions should be identified as "Telemarketing Rulemaking - Comment. FTC File No. R411001." Individual members of the public filing comments need not submit multiple copies or comments in electronic form.
The Public Forum
The public forum announced in the Federal Register notice will be held at FTC Headquarters after the close of the public comment period. Parties interested in attending the forum should submit their request in writing on or before April 15, 2002 to: Carole Danielson, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, Division of Marketing Practices, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
For More Information
For additional information on the TSR, the notice of proposed rulemaking, or the upcoming public forum, contact: Catherine Harrington-McBride, 202-326-2452 (e-mail: cmcbride@ftc.gov); Karen Leonard, 202-326-3597 (e-mail: kleonard@ftc.gov); or Carole Danielson, 202-326-3115 (e-mail: cdanielson@ftc.gov).
The Commission vote to approve publication of the Federal Register notice announcing the extension of the comment period was 5-0.
Copies of the Federal Register notice are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
(FTC File No. R411001)