As information technology continues to advance so does the need to protect consumers from the new ethical issues that arises. Congress tries to protect consumers from numerous ethical issues through developing and passing of laws. These advances happen so rapidly that it becomes difficult to foresee ethical issues. One of many ethical issues related to information technology is the ease of access to consumers’ personal information. Telemarketing companies’ acquire this information and use prerecorded messages and telephone automation to solicit the sale of goods and services to customers via phone calls. This practice causes problems and nuisances to consumers, which in turn prompted numerous complaints to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Because of the numerous complaints, Congress created the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 1991 and the Do Not Call Implementation Act 2003 to protect consumers from such annoying practices.
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 1991 According to “America Teleservices Association” (2012), “in 1991, congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the first federal law regulating the actions of legitimate telemarketers” (para. 1). Congress implemented this Act to create a balance between protecting the rights of the consumers and to give legitimate businesses an avenue to use telemarketing effectively. The FCC is responsible for regulating this law and required telemarketers to streamline their existing policies and create new ones that will bring their processes and practices within compliance with a few restrictions; proper identification, restricted calling hours and following the Do Not Call Registry policy.
Do Not Call Implementation Act, 2003 In 2003, Congress passed the Do Not Call Implementation Act. According to “Federal Communication Commission” (n.d.), “pursuant to its authority under the TCPA, the FCC established, together with the Federal
References: American Teleservices Association. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.ataconnect.org/public/consumers/teleconsumerprotection.php Federal Communication Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fcc.fov/encyclopedia/do-not-call-list This is a hanging indent. To keep the hanging indent format, simply delete this line of text using the backspace key, and replace the information with your reference entry.