STATEMENT OF 
CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI
Re: Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, CG 
Docket No. 02-278
Today, we take action to further empower consumers to avoid unwanted “robocalls.”   
For decades, Congress and the Commission have recognized that consumers should have control 
over the telemarketing calls that come to their homes and mobile devices, and be able to stop the ones that 
they don’t want to receive.  The Commission and the FTC have long had rules to put consumers in 
control.  But despite these clear ground rules, too many telemarketers, aided by autodialers and 
prerecorded messages, have continued to call consumers who don’t want to hear from them.  Consumers 
by the thousands have complained to us, letting us know that they remain unhappy with having their 
privacy invaded and their time wasted by these unwanted calls.
Today, we respond to those consumers, providing consumers greater protection from unwanted 
robocalls.  First, before robocalling any consumer, telemarketers will now have to get that consumer’s 
written consent, which may be electronic.  Second, telemarketers will no longer be able to robocall a 
consumer simply because he or she has previously done business with that telemarketer – something our 
data and the FTC’s record show frustrates many consumers.  Now, written consent will be necessary for 
all telemarketing robocalls.
And to ensure that the consumer can easily change his or her mind even when written consent has 
been given, our new rules give consumers instant control: each and every telemarketing robocall will have 
to include an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism, so that a consumer can revoke consent by 
pressing just a few keys during the call.  The telemarketer will have to automatically add the consumer to 
the company’s do-not-call list and immediately disconnect the call.  We are also closing a loophole so that 
every single telemarketing campaign will have to comply with strict limits on the “dead-air” 
telemarketing calls that are so frustrating to consumers when they interrupt their dinners or other activities 
to answer the phone, only to hear nothing on the other end.
At the same time that we help consumers avoid unwanted robocalls, we do so in a manner that is 
minimally burdensome to businesses, including small businesses.  Because our rules largely mirror those 
the FTC applies to telemarketers in its jurisdiction, we have consistent rules applying to all telemarketers, 
and we avoid confusion for those telemarketers subject to both the Commission’s and the FTC’s rules.  In 
addition, we leave unchanged our rules for robocalls that are informational and that consumers may have 
come to rely on.  Some of these informational robocalls include automated calls that update consumers on 
airline flights, provide school notifications, or even warn them about fraudulent activity in their bank 
accounts. 
I thank the staff from the Bureaus involved in this item for their diligent efforts, particularly the 
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, which worked closely with our Enforcement Bureau, Office 
of General Counsel, and the Wireline and Wireless Bureaus – and for their great work to empower and 
protect consumers.