< Back to Previous Page

State Of Florida Consumer Protection Telemarketing Policy

Telemarketing Policy

Enacted by Congress in 1991, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts the use of the telephone and facsimile machine to deliver unsolicited advertisements. Specifically, the TCPA prohibits autodialed calls to emergency telephone lines, health care facilities, paging services, cellular telephones, and any service for which the called party is charged for the call. The TCPA also prohibits the delivery of artificial or prerecorded messages to residences except for emergency purposes or with the prior express consent of the called party. Under the TCPA, one may not send an unsolicited advertisement to a fax machine.
 
In addition, those sending fax messages or transmitting artificial or prerecorded voice messages are subject to certain identification requirements. In 1992, the Commission adopted rules to implement the TCPA, including the requirement that entities making telephone solicitations institute procedures for maintaining do-not-call lists. Under the company-specific do-not-call rules, once a consumer asks not to receive calls from a particular company, that company may not call that consumer.

On June 26, 2003, the FCC revised its rules implementing the TCPA and established, in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a national Do-Not-Call registry. The registry is nationwide in scope, includes all telemarketers (with the exception of certain non-profit organizations), and covers both interstate and intrastate telemarketing calls (the rules start at 47 C.F.R. §64.1200). Consumers can place their telephone numbers on the registry through one telephone call or one Web click.

The federal rules supercede all less restrictive state do-not-call rules, but states can have more restrictive do-not-call laws governing intrastate telemarketing. There are restrictions on the use of automatic dialing machines in an effort to reduce the number of “hang-up” and “dead air” calls consumers experience. The rules prohibit telemarketers from blocking caller ID information, and require companies to obtain express permission in writing before sending faxed advertisements to its customers. The rules allow calls by a marketer to friends, family members and acquaintances.