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Judge Rules FTC Lacks Authority to Enforce Do-Not-Call List
Aired September 24, 2003 - 15:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Telemarketers are celebrating a legal victory today. A federal judge said the national do-not-call list is a violation of the industry's rights. That decision has put the effort to block unwanted calls on hold. Greg Clarkson of CNN financial news in New York is telling us all about it. Hi, Greg.
GREG CLARKSON, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. That's right, 50 million people had signed up for the national do-not-call list. They were fully expecting that next Wednesday on October 1 that that list was to take effect those telephone solicitations would end. Well, there's a real twist here today. A federal judge in Oklahoma saying that the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, overstepped its bounds, basically, didn't have the authority to create this list in the first place.
Now, immediately we heard from members of Congress saying that the FTC in fact does have the authority to create this. So obviously a legal battle -- the stage is set for a legal battle. We don't know at this point the immediate impact of this ruling. The judge did not issue any specific action to be taken by the FTC.
So it's unclear right now whether or not on that October 1 date, if those calls will be coming or not coming. So that remains to be seen.
But again, 50 million people had signed up fully expecting those calls to top. This is a victory for telemarketers who say this would have cut their business in half they estimate that they would have lost about $50 billion a year in sales. And also they say it would have cost them well over 1 million jobs. So they're claiming victory now.
There's also a kind of a parallel legal battle, if you will, in a federal court in Denver with telemarketers suing the FTC as well. That's possible -- another development that we may see on the legal front.
But either way, Congress promising swift action here and they believe they will actually have things in place when that October 1 date rolls around, to keep those calls from coming. So all this still to unfold. But at the moment, at least, it's a victory for telemarketers -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, I think Congress has the upper hand in this situation. A lot of people making a statement here about not wanting to get those calls. CLARKSON: Sure. And that's exactly what folks say. You know 50 million people had signed on. At this point, obviously, the tide is well against the telemarketers.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Greg Clarkson. Thanks, Greg.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired September 24, 2003 - 15:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Telemarketers are celebrating a legal victory today. A federal judge said the national do-not-call list is a violation of the industry's rights. That decision has put the effort to block unwanted calls on hold. Greg Clarkson of CNN financial news in New York is telling us all about it. Hi, Greg.
GREG CLARKSON, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. That's right, 50 million people had signed up for the national do-not-call list. They were fully expecting that next Wednesday on October 1 that that list was to take effect those telephone solicitations would end. Well, there's a real twist here today. A federal judge in Oklahoma saying that the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, overstepped its bounds, basically, didn't have the authority to create this list in the first place.
Now, immediately we heard from members of Congress saying that the FTC in fact does have the authority to create this. So obviously a legal battle -- the stage is set for a legal battle. We don't know at this point the immediate impact of this ruling. The judge did not issue any specific action to be taken by the FTC.
So it's unclear right now whether or not on that October 1 date, if those calls will be coming or not coming. So that remains to be seen.
But again, 50 million people had signed up fully expecting those calls to top. This is a victory for telemarketers who say this would have cut their business in half they estimate that they would have lost about $50 billion a year in sales. And also they say it would have cost them well over 1 million jobs. So they're claiming victory now.
There's also a kind of a parallel legal battle, if you will, in a federal court in Denver with telemarketers suing the FTC as well. That's possible -- another development that we may see on the legal front.
But either way, Congress promising swift action here and they believe they will actually have things in place when that October 1 date rolls around, to keep those calls from coming. So all this still to unfold. But at the moment, at least, it's a victory for telemarketers -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, I think Congress has the upper hand in this situation. A lot of people making a statement here about not wanting to get those calls. CLARKSON: Sure. And that's exactly what folks say. You know 50 million people had signed on. At this point, obviously, the tide is well against the telemarketers.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Greg Clarkson. Thanks, Greg.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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