Contentious issues remain in CRTC’s look at national do not call list

Despite two tries at forming an effective national Do-Not-Call (DNC) registry for the telemarketing industry, there are still some contentious issues that will come to the fore during a CRTC process designed to create the regulations governing such a list. The commission issued Telecom Public Notice 2006-4 on February 20. Some have suggested that allowing exemptions for activities such as newspapers soliciting subscriptions and existing business relationships waters down the rules, making the list unworkable from a consumer perspective. Others say these exemptions are required for organizations that rely on telemarketing. Wally Hill, VP of public affairs at the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA), agrees that exemptions have been one of the more contentious points and that there needs to be greater discussion. He singles out the existing business relationship exemption and how it might apply to a business-to-business call as one issue that needs to be clarified. "I think the orientation of the has been targeted to solicitations of consumers, not a supplier calling another business to talk about their products, but that’s not spelled out," he tells Network Letter. "We’d asked that it be spelled out in the early going and it’s spelled out as an exemption US model which was an important starting point for the Canadian system." An exemption for newspaper subscription solicitation was a last-minute addition to Bill C-37 that was passed by the Senate days before the last Parliament was prorogued after losing a non-confidence vote. The rules surrounding this exemption are still unclear. "I’m not sure how broadly that newspaper or that publication subscription applies, so there may be some talk about the different elements of that," says Hill. While there may be great discussion regarding the ineffectiveness of a national DNC registry that contains a number of exemptions for telemarketing activities, telemarketing is an important business tool and driver of economic growth, Hill says, noting that exemption-opposers sometimes forget that fact. "So you want to find the right balance between not undermining the strength of that economy and not undermining certain activities. We argued for the existing business relationship exemption and we just believe that this is a fundamental economic relationship between companies and a consumer that has chosen to deal with them," Hill explains. The CMA spokesperson notes that some of the existing rules should be carried forward in the new regulations, such as the requirement for all organizations to maintain an internal do-not-contact registry. As this relates to the existing business relationship, Hill says, "It really just allows a company – a financial institution, an insurer, whatever the case may be – to phone you once. And if you so chose at that point, you can say, ‘Put me on your internal list.’" Hill indicates that there is an important distinction to make in the debate about the exemption for existing business relationships. "There’s a difference between contacting you about servicing your existing business versus contacting you to solicit, and saying, ‘By the way we’ve introduced a new product that we think you might be interested in.’ "We’re not talking about contact, we’re talking about contact for the purposes of solicitation. And contact for purposes of solicitation, there’s always an alternative for even someone that you have an existing business relationship with….You can choose to say, ‘Send it to me in the mail.’ That’s legitimate and that’s good marketing practice to allow consumers that kind of choice," Hill explains. Technical, administrative issues to be addressedAlthough existing business relationships and newspaper exemptions are likely to get most of the spotlight during the public process, there are still some administrative and technical issues to be dealt with. The CRTC’s Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) will form a subcommittee to deal with issues related to forming the consortium that will select a DNC list operator. Once the consortium charged with choosing the DNC registry operator is formed, it will conduct a two-stage process for selecting the list’s operator. A request for information will assess interested DNC list operators. Second, a request for proposals will be sent to qualified parties, which will also detail their expertise in this area. Hill suggests that the CISC subcommittee is looking for some thoughtful input and information from experts even before it goes out with a request for information. The mandate of this subcommittee is to "get some input from a variety of experts, informed people on a system of this nature or similar list programs and try to develop some practical shape, look and feel for this thing, and how would operate," he says. Initial comments in the public process are due by May 10. A public consultation will be held on May 2 to 5 in Gatineau QC.

Contentious issues remain in CRTC’s look at national do not call list

News | 03/07/2006 5:00 am EST

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