Congress Adresses 'Do Not Call' Expiration

Separate House and Senate committees passed legislation Tuesday, taking the first steps to make permanent the nearly 145 million names and numbers on the national Do Not Call list by essentially eliminating a five year expiration date enacted by the FTC.

Starting next month, millions of people would be required to re-register their phone numbers with the list, but the Federal Trade Commission decided last week to forgo the removal of the expired numbers while congress considers making the current telephone numbers on the list permanent.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee cleared H.R. 3541, the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 on Tuesday. It will go to the full House for a vote. In the Senate, S. 2096, also called the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, cleared the Commerce Committee; likewise, it will go ahead to the full Senate for a vote.

Several bloggers are championing the Do Not Call Registry.

Marc Hedlund of O'Reilly Radar:

The closest the U.S. has gotten to a privacy uprising is the National Do Not Call Registry. According to a January, 2007 Times article, since its launch in 2003, "more than 137 million phone numbers have been placed on the list by people tired of interruptions during dinner or their favorite TV show." 137 million! The seeds of a movement are there, at least. While probably nothing else has risen to that level of response, news coverage of ChoicePoint, identity theft, and the like make privacy a popular topic of lip service -- but usually, unfortunately, little else.

Skeet of Skeet's Stuff:

So should you register your cell phone? It can’t hurt. I get occasional telemarketing calls on my cell phone, so I decided it was the reasonable thing to do. You can do it online at the National Do Not Call Registy or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register. I used the phone number to register my cell and office phones today. It took less than two minutes to do each. My fax machine does not have a handset on it, so I registered my fax line through the online site (link above.) That was also quick and easy. I look at it the same way that I see buying term insurance - like an ace in the hole. I remember registering my phone (land line) when Do Not Call became available, but maybe that was before I got new numbers. I regularly get calls from Sun Marketing (as do thousands of others who have complained about them) and occasionally from other telemarketers. Now that I know for sure that all of my phones are registered I’ll be able to file complaints if these nuisance calls continue. It takes thirty-one days for your number to actually enter the system, but after that you’re protected for five years. It’s free, so I can’t think of any reason not to do it.

The registry began in June 2003 and prohibits companies from calling those listed. Fines reach $11,000 per violation. Political, charitable or survey work organizations are exempt. Companies having a sales history with a customer may call for up to 18 months after the last delivery, payment or purchase.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

FTC: Hormone-free milk ads not misleading

According to the Associated Press the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rejected chemical company Monsanto's request to take action against dairies who advertise their milk being free of synthetic hormones.

St Louis based Monsanto claims the ads mislead consumers into believing hormone-free milk and dairy products are safer than those containing recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, a hormone made by the company used to boost milk production in cows by 10 percent.

The Federal Trade Commission said last week that the ads it reviewed -- by more than a half dozen companies that advertise milk products -- did not make any misleading claims about the safety of rBST.

The FTC decision came during the same week Starbucks announced it would no longer use milk containing Monsanto's hormone -- marketed under the name Posilac. Various grocers, including Safeway and Kroger Co., have already switched to milk without any synthetic hormones.

rBST is banned in Europe and Canada primarily over concerns that it leaves cattle prone to illness. But both the FDA -- which approved the substance in 1993 -- and Monsanto claim the hormone is safe.

Consumerist.com points out:

In 1997, a FoxNews investigative team cracked a story about Monsanto's conspiracy to push bovine growth hormone while ignoring the potential risks to consumers. They were then ceaselessly badgered by Monsanto lawyers and Fox corporate into changing their story, fired, and sued by their employer.

One of the ads, by national milk producer Borden, say, "we work exclusively with farmers that supply 100 percent of our milk from cows that haven't been treated with artificial hormones. So, who do you trust when it comes to your family's milk?"

Monsanto claims that this type of advertising has led to an artificial demand and higher prices for milk from cows without growth hormone.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation