FTC Charges Telemarketer for Making Illegal and Unsolicited Calls

The FTC issued a press release advising that it has charged a telemarketing operation and its owners with making millions of illegal, unsolicited calls about educational programs to consumers who submitted their contact information to websites promising help with job searches, public benefits, and other unrelated programs.  According to the FTC’s complaint seeking civil penalties, corporate and individual defendants obtained consumers’ phone numbers from websites that claim to help consumers apply for jobs, health insurance, unemployment benefits, Medicaid coverage, or other forms of assistance. Instead of offering these services, the defendants and their affiliates call consumers to market vocational or post-secondary education programs, according to the FTC.

The defendants are charged with violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule by initiating over five million unsolicited outbound telemarketing calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Registry since 2013, and by providing substantial assistance to other telemarketers who placed calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Registry.  The FTC vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on March 29, 2019, after being referred back to the FTC by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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 The Regulatory Mix Today:  FTC Charges Telemarketer for Making Illegal and Unsolicited Calls, US Senate Privacy Legislation

US Senate Privacy Legislation

Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) announced had has introduced comprehensive federal privacy legislation to protect American consumers’ personal information. The Privacy Bill of Rights Act establishes rules for both online and offline companies and bans the use of individuals’ personal information for harmful, discriminatory purposes, such as housing and employment advertisements targeted based on demographics like race and gender. It also includes cybersecurity standards and provides the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with rulemaking authority. Among other things, the Act:

• Prohibits companies from using individuals’ personal information in discriminatory ways; 
• Requires companies to protect and secure the personal information that they hold;  
• Establishes a centralized FTC website that tells consumers about their privacy rights and requires companies to use easy to read short-form notices provided directly to consumers
• Ensures companies collect only the information they need from consumers in order to provide the requested services; and
• Enables State Attorneys General to protect the interest of their residents and bring action against companies that violate the privacy rights of individuals. Individuals will also have a private right of action empowering them to defend their own privacy rights.

“America’s laws have failed to keep pace with the unprecedented use of consumers’ data and the consistent cadence of breaches and privacy invasions that plague our economy and society,” said Senator Markey. “I have long advocated for privacy protections that include the principles of knowledge, notice and the right to say ‘no’ to companies that want our information. But it is increasingly clear that a true 21st century comprehensive privacy bill must do more than simply enshrine notice and consent standards. That’s why my Privacy Bill of Rights Act puts discriminatory data uses out of bounds and tells companies that they can only collect the information that is necessary to provide the product or service requested by the consumer.”

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.