FTC Issues Biennial Report to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry

The Federal Trade Commission has issued its biennial report to Congress on the use of the Do Not Call Registry by both consumers and businesses over the past two years.

As of September 30, 2015, the National Do Not Call Registry had more than 222 million active registrations, an increase of more than 4.9 million registrations from the previous fiscal year. In FY 2015, 2,504 businesses and other entities paid Registry access fees totaling more than $13.3 million. Another 20,596 entities accessed the Registry without paying a fee because they access five or fewer area codes or are a charity. Similar numbers of entities utilized the Registry in FY 2014 and paid access fees of more than $13.5 million.

This year’s report addresses: 1) the impact of the five-year re-registration requirement which was eliminated in 2007; 2) how the FTC is responding to new technologies that have increased the number of illegal telemarketing calls made to numbers on the Registry; 3) issues regarding number portability and abandoned telephone numbers; and 4) the impact of the established business relationship exception on consumers and businesses.

The report notes that the DNC Registry exists to provide consumers with a choice regarding whether or not to receive telemarketing calls. Accordingly, the FTC works to keep it accessible and effective for both consumers and telemarketers.

The Commission vote authorizing the report to Congress was 4-0.

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