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Republicans Push For 'Ringless Voicemail' Spam
by Karl Bode
Friday May 26 2017 16:00 EDT
Tipped by ISurfTooMuch
The GOP’s leading campaign and fundraising arm, the Republican National Committee, is throwing its support behind a push that could let robocallers spam your voicemail inbox -- without your phone ever ringing. As it stands, annoying consumers (you) with robocalls currently violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). More specifically, the law bans any non-emergency calls made with auto-dialers, computer-generated or prerecorded voices without the "prior express consent of the called party."
But a number of companies (including a marketing company named "All About the Message") are petitioning the current FCC for an exemption that would allow them to bombard your voicemail inbox without technically causing your phone to ring.
And the push this week got some major help by the Republican National Committee, who in filings with the FCC tries to argue that the marketing industry's ability to annoy you is a First Amendment right.
The FCC's failure to allow an exemption for ringless voicemail "would not only restrict an important form of non-intrusive communication; it would have serious consequences for the First Amendment rights of those engaged in political communication via telephone," claims the RNC.
In other words, the RNC is claiming it's the marketing industry's First Amendment right to be able to send marketing missives directly to your voicemail inbox. Obviously lacking from the RNC letter is any real concern about the fact that consumers don't want anything like this implemented.
The US Chamber of Commerce and the American Financial Services Association have also thrown their weight behind the push for a ringless voicemail exemption. The Chamber of Commerce goes so far as to call anti-robocall and anti-spam protection provided under the TCPA as "archaic," suggesting it prevents the marketing industry from developing new and amazing ways to annoy you.
Raise your hand if you'd like your voicemail populated with marketing and political missives each morning?
https://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Republicans-Push-For-Ringless-Voicemail-Spam-139653
Republicans Push For 'Ringless Voicemail' Spam
by Karl Bode
Friday May 26 2017 16:00 EDT
Tipped by ISurfTooMuch
The GOP’s leading campaign and fundraising arm, the Republican National Committee, is throwing its support behind a push that could let robocallers spam your voicemail inbox -- without your phone ever ringing. As it stands, annoying consumers (you) with robocalls currently violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). More specifically, the law bans any non-emergency calls made with auto-dialers, computer-generated or prerecorded voices without the "prior express consent of the called party."
But a number of companies (including a marketing company named "All About the Message") are petitioning the current FCC for an exemption that would allow them to bombard your voicemail inbox without technically causing your phone to ring.
And the push this week got some major help by the Republican National Committee, who in filings with the FCC tries to argue that the marketing industry's ability to annoy you is a First Amendment right.
The FCC's failure to allow an exemption for ringless voicemail "would not only restrict an important form of non-intrusive communication; it would have serious consequences for the First Amendment rights of those engaged in political communication via telephone," claims the RNC.
In other words, the RNC is claiming it's the marketing industry's First Amendment right to be able to send marketing missives directly to your voicemail inbox. Obviously lacking from the RNC letter is any real concern about the fact that consumers don't want anything like this implemented.
The US Chamber of Commerce and the American Financial Services Association have also thrown their weight behind the push for a ringless voicemail exemption. The Chamber of Commerce goes so far as to call anti-robocall and anti-spam protection provided under the TCPA as "archaic," suggesting it prevents the marketing industry from developing new and amazing ways to annoy you.
Raise your hand if you'd like your voicemail populated with marketing and political missives each morning?
https://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Republicans-Push-For-Ringless-Voicemail-Spam-139653
