Information Technology Acts Paper Essay

Have you ever been sitting at home relaxing when the phone rings and it is a telemarketer on the other line trying to sell you something? You didn’t reach out to the company on the other line prompting this intrusion. Most of the time, you don’t even want the product they are selling. This is an issue that has plagued millions of people across the United States since the mid-to-late eighties when businesses started using the telephone in order to market and sell their products. Two Acts in particular have been passed in order to help battle telemarketers and maintain residencies’ privacy when it comes to the telephone. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was passed in 1991 was implemented because of the increasing amount of commercial solicitation calls consumers were receiving. The act laid out rules that companies must abide by when marketing through the telephone. Some of these rules consisted of providing the solicitor’s name, the name of the entity whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or address where they can be contacted. Another is that solicitation calls can only be made between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm. Finally telemarketers must abide by any do not call requests from consumers. According to â€Å"Unwanted Telephone Marketing Calls† (2013), â€Å" In June 2003, the FCC supplemented its original rules implementing the TCPA and established, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the national Do-Not-Call list. † George W. Bush signed the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act into law on June 11th, 2003. This Act in conjunction with the TCPA, the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act is also here to protect the consumer from unwanted phone calls. There is a grace period of 31 days that the consumer has to put their phone number on this list from the day the number is registered. Companies can be sued by individuals for not upholding rules by which these to Acts represent. States can also initiate civil action against offending companies. Individuals can also file complaints through the FCC. These are a few of the ways the TCPA and Do-Not-Call Implementation Acts can be enforced. They are only here to protect the consumer and we are all better off for them.