Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

internetworkers - Re: Automated phone dialers-- how to fight back?

internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Bill Vinson <billvinson AT nc.rr.com>
  • To: "InterNetWorkers" <internetworkers AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Automated phone dialers-- how to fight back?
  • Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 01:32:10 -0400


On Thursday, May 16, 2002, at 10:54 PM, Bill Geschwind wrote:

I thought cell phones were off limits to telemarketers? Much like it
isn't legal to send unrequested faxes as they both cost the receiving
number actual $$$ for materials (cell time or paper). I haven't ever
been called on my cellphones...


That's interesting, since I received two different unsolicited faxes on my
home fax machine during the last several months. I got very annoyed at them
and then simply threw the faxes away. If that happens again, I ought to keep
the fax and follow up on that. I have had that fax machine for about 2 1/2
years now, and these were the only junk faxes I have received to date, and
I'm hoping that this is not an increasing trend. Anybody else been getting
junk faxes lately? I remember that that used to be a bit of a problem at the
company I worked for during the early and mid 90s.

- Bill

I found a reference. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA)

http://www.junkfaxes.org/federal_law.htm

I copied some of the law below and supposedly a suit can be filed in state court, but there are some exemptions and I am not a lawyer, so of course all bets are off until a professional gives you advice :) But, it does seem automated dialing to cellphones is not allowed and unsolicited commercial faxes are not allowed.

Bill
-----------------------------------
Bill Vinson
http://www.trilug.org/~billv

Interesting section relating to our cellphone/fax discussion:

(b) Restrictions on use of automated telephone equipment

(1) Prohibitions

It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States--
(A) to make any call (other than a call made for emergency
purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called
party) using any automatic telephone dialing system or an
artificial or prerecorded voice--
(i) to any emergency telephone line (including any
``911'' line and any emergency line of a hospital, medical
physician or service office, health care facility, poison
control center, or fire protection or law enforcement
agency);
(ii) to the telephone line of any guest room or patient
room of a hospital, health care facility, elderly home, or
similar establishment; or
(iii) to any telephone number assigned to a paging
service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile
radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any
service for which the called party is charged for the call;

(B) to initiate any telephone call to any residential
telephone line using an artificial or prerecorded voice to
deliver a message without the prior express consent of the
called party, unless the call is initiated for emergency
purposes or is exempted by rule or order by the Commission under
paragraph (2)(B);
(C) to use any telephone facsimile machine, computer, or
other device to send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone
facsimile machine; or
(D) to use an automatic telephone dialing system in such a
way that two or more telephone lines of a multi-line business
are engaged simultaneously.





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page