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 SEPARATE  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 Re:  Rules  and  Regulations  Implementing  the  Telephone  Consumer  Protection  Act  of  1991  (CG  Docket  No.  02-  278),  Report  and  Order 
 Few  rights  are  so  fundamental  as  the  right  to  privacy  in  our  daily  lives,  yet  few  are  under  such  frontal  assault.  Our  dinners  are  disrupted  by  unwanted  phone  calls.  Our 
 computer  accounts  are  besieged  with  bothersome  spam.  Our  mailboxes  are  swollen  with  advertisements  for  products,  goods  and  services.  We  conduct  our  whole  lives  against  the 
 white  noise  of  commercial  solicitation.  These  intrusions  exhaust  us,  irritate  us  and  threaten  our  cherished  right  to  be  left  alone. 


 Today  we  have  an  opportunity  to  do  something  about  it.  We  have  an  opportunity  to  reinforce  our  homes  against  the  constant  invasion  of  commercialism  and  the  endless 
 nuisance  of  unwanted  telemarketing  calls.  At  the  direction  of  Congress  and  through  coordinated  action  with  the  Federal  Trade  Commission,  we  now  return  a  measure  of 
 privacy  control  to  citizens.  We  establish  a  national  Do-  Not-  Call  registry  that  permits  each  of  us  to  choose  limits  on  the  telemarketing  calls  we  receive.  We  do  this  in  a  way 
 that  balances  the  First  Amendment  rights  of  marketers  with  the  right  of  each  individual  and  every  household  to  determine  the  scope  of  permissible  intrusion.  This  decision 
 represents  a  positive  step  for  all  of  us,  not  only  as  consumers,  but  as  citizens.  I  am  pleased  to  support  it. 


 I  am  especially  pleased  that  the  rules  we  adopt  are  in  harmony  with  those  put  in  place  by  our  allies  in  this  exercise  at  the  Federal  Trade  Commission.  This  is  consistent 
 with  Congress’  direction  that  we  “maximize  consistency”  with  the  rules  adopted  by  our  fellow  agency.  This  makes  for  a  user-  friendly  registry. 


 To  ensure  that  the  Do-  Not-  Call  list  achieves  the  protective  power  and  prominence  that  Congress  intended,  both  agencies  must  now  work  together—  and  with  our  partners  in 
 the  states—  to  enforce  the  national  program  we  establish  here  today.  When  the  Do-  Not-Call  list  is  open  for  business,  we  will  share  the  duty  of  vigilant  enforcement.  We  worked 
 hard  here  to  balance  the  rights  and  privileges  of  personal  contacts  and  relationships  with  the  right  to  be  left  alone.  I  think  we  achieve  good  balance,  but  I  never  underestimate  the 
 inventiveness  of  some  in  skirting  or  abusing  rules,  and  these  individuals  and  enterprises  should  understand  that  such  actions  will  not  go  unnoticed  or  unpunished. 


 We  all  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  many  people  at  our  Consumer  and  Governmental  Affairs  Bureau  who  worked  hard  to  draft  and  coordinate  and  bring  this 
 item  before  the  Commission  and  who  will  continue  to  labor  on  behalf  of  the  American  people  to  implement  the  rules  and  make  the  national  registry  a  success.  I  also  want  to 
 commend  my  colleagues  for  the  productive  discussions  we  have  had  on  this  item  in  recent  days.  The  result  is  a  little  more  privacy  in  our  not-  so-  private  society. 
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