Sixty million Americans have declared their phone numbers off limits to sales pitches by signing up with the national do-not-call list.
Virginian-Pilot columnist Dave Addis imagined what those pitches might have sounded like in earlier times:
“Mr. Madison, Mr. Madison! We’re giving you a free vacation for two at a muddy, stanky campground in Colonial Williamsburg. All we need is your bank account number, and you’re on your way!” “Mr. Jefferson! Mr. Jefferson! I can save you two points on a plantation-equity loan! And you’re pre-approved!” “Mr. Washington! Mr. Washington! Have you considered the advantages of vinyl siding for your corn cribs?”
If only because of Mr. Madison’s First Amendment, do-not-call legal battles continue.
One federal judge said the list violated the Constitution in barring commercial speech while still allowing phone calls asking for money for charity or to support a political candidate. Another ruled that the Federal Trade Commission overstepped its authority when it created the registry (Congress moved swiftly to set aside that argument; meanwhile, the constitutional issues were headed for higher courts).
But Addis thinks it will be surprising “if the courts ultimately rule that the First Amendment includes the right to shout an unwanted commercial message into a private citizen’s home.”
Most of the do-not-call numbers were registered online at http://www.donotcall.gov. Others were registered through a toll-free number.
At the Web site, consumers provide home or cell phone numbers they want protected and are given an e-mail confirmation.
The Federal Trade Commission announced in mid-June that it would not create a similar “do-not-spam” register. The register could be mined for names, said the FTC’s chair, Timothy Muris.