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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  October  2,  2003  Suzanne  Tetreault  at  (202)  418-  7450 
 FCC  ESTABLISHES  SPECIAL  DO-  NOT-  CALL  ENFORCEMENT  TEAM 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today,  FCC  Chairman  Michael  K.  Powell  announced  the  creation  of  a  special  Do-  Not-  Call  Enforcement  Team  to  enforce  the  Commission’s  Do-  Not-  Call 
 telemarketing  rules. 
 Chairman  Powell  said:  “Swift  and  strong  enforcement  of  the  FCC’s  National  Do-  Not-Call  rules  is  our  number  one  enforcement  priority.”  Enforcement  Bureau  Chief  David  H. 
 Solomon  added:  “This  Team  will  ensure  that  we  devote  all  the  necessary  resources  to  protect  the  privacy  rights  of  American  consumers.  Our  job  has  been  made  more  difficult  by  recent  court 
 decisions  relating  to  the  Federal  Trade  Commission’s  rules.  But  telemarketers  should  make  no  mistake  about  it  –  the  FCC  is  on  the  job  and  we  will  do  everything  we  can  to  enforce  the  FCC’s 
 own  Do-  Not-  Call  rules  and  our  other  telemarketing  rules.” 
 The  Do-  Not-  Call  Team  is  composed  of  experienced  attorneys  and  investigators.  The  Team  is  headed  by  Kurt  Schroeder,  Deputy  Chief  of  the  Enforcement  Bureau’s 
 Telecommunications  Consumers  Division.  In  addition  to  enforcing  the  FCC’s  National  Do-  Not-Call  rules,  the  Team  is  also  responsible  for  enforcing  the  FCC’s  related  telemarketing  rules. 


 An  Enforcement  Bureau  Fact  Sheet  on  the  FCC’s  telemarketing  rules  is  attached. 
 Enforcement  Bureau  Contacts:  Suzanne  Tetreault  at  (202)  418-  7450  or  Kurt  Schroeder  at  (202)  418-  0966. 
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 ENFORCEMENT  BUREAU  FACT  SHEET:  THE  FCC’S  TELEMARKETING  RULES 
 Under  the  FCC’s  National  Do-  Not-  Call  rules,  which  became  effective  on  October  1,  2003,  telemarketers  and  businesses  may  not  make  sales  calls  to  consumers  who  have  registered 
 their  residential  telephone  numbers  on  the  National  Do-  Not-  Call  Registry.  Although  court  rulings  have  created  uncertainties  in  this  area,  the  right  of  consumers  to  be  protected  from 
 unwanted  telemarketing  calls  has  remained  in  place  under  these  FCC  rules. 
 The  FCC  also  has  company-  specific  Do-  Not-  Call  rules  that  enable  consumers  to  request  that  individual  businesses  stop  making  commercial  solicitation  calls  to  their  residential  telephone 
 lines.  Businesses  are  required  to  honor  such  requests  within  30  days  and  must  continue  to  honor  them  for  five  years.  These  rules  apply  to  all  commercial  entities  and  cover  calls  made  both 
 within  and  between  states,  but  not  to  tax-  exempt  nonprofit  organizations.  The  Enforcement  Bureau  recommends  that  consumers  write  down  the  dates  of  their  Do-  Not-  Call  requests  to 
 individual  businesses,  as  well  as  the  dates  of  any  subsequent  sales  calls  they  receive  from  such  businesses  after  30  days,  so  that  they  can  provide  this  information  to  the  Commission  if  they 
 wish  to  file  a  complaint. 
 The  FCC  also  has  rules  that  protect  consumers’  rights  to  be  free  from  telemarketing  calls  between  9  p.  m.  and  8  a.  m.,  and  to  be  free  from  most  telemarketing  calls  involving  pre-  recorded 
 commercial  messages,  which  are  unlawful  even  if  the  consumer  has  not  made  a  Do-  Not-  Call  request.  In  addition,  all  telemarketers  are  required  to  identify,  in  their  telephone  solicitations,  the 
 name  of  the  person  or  entity  on  whose  behalf  the  call  is  being  made,  as  well  as  a  telephone  number  or  address  at  which  the  person  or  entity  may  be  contacted. 


 What  Consumers  Can  Do  About  Unlawful  Sales  Calls 
 Consumers  have  private  recourse  against  telemarketers  that  violate  FCC  telemarketing  rules,  including  the  Do-  Not-  Call  requirements.  Under  federal  law,  consumers  may  file  lawsuits 
 against  the  violators  in  state  courts,  and  they  may  be  awarded  $500  in  damages  or  actual  monetary  loss,  whichever  is  greater,  for  each  violation.  This  amount  may  be  tripled  if  the 
 consumer  is  able  to  show  that  the  telemarketer  willfully  and  knowingly  violated  the  FCC’s  Do-Not-  Call  requirements. 


 States  themselves  may  also  initiate  a  lawsuit  in  federal  district  court  against  telemarketers  that  violate  rights  of  their  residents  under  the  FCC’s  telemarketing  rules.  To  assist 
 their  states  with  such  actions,  consumers  may  wish  to  contact  their  state  consumer  protection  office  or  state  Attorney  General’s  office  about  any  violations  they  have  experienced.  The 
 telephone  numbers  of  these  state  agencies  should  be  listed  in  the  government  section  of  the  telephone  directory,  or  they  can  be  obtained  by  calling  directory  assistance. 


 What  the  FCC  Can  Do  to  Help 
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