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| THE WAR IN IRAQ | |
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| PERSON OF THE YEAR The American Soldier: Defender of Freedom |
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| THE WAR IN IRAQ "We Got Him" |
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WORKSHEET: The Capture of Saddam |
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The Insurgent and the Soldier |
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If At First You Don't Succeed... |
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Losing Hearts and Minds |
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The Politics of War |
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| WORLD | |
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| MIDDLE EAST A Different Road Map |
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| NUCLEAR THREATS What Will Make Them Stop? |
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WORKSHEET: Interpreting Maps and Charts |
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| THE NOBEL PRIZE "She Is Very Brave" |
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WORKSHEET: The Prize for Peace |
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| NATION | |
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| ELECTION 2004 How We're Divided Over George W. Bush... and What That Says About Us |
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Operation February |
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| CONGRESS Spending Spree |
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| SOCIETY The Five Meanings of Arnold |
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Lights Out |
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No-Call: On Hold |
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| BUSINESS Now Hiring! |
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| SCIENCE Running Out of Energy |
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Inside the Food Labs |
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WORKSHEET: Current Events in Review |
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Answers |
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No-Call: On Hold
The national do-not-call list hits a snag in court
By Eric Roston
For loony public spectacle, the on-again-off-again effort to shield Americans from unwanted telemarketing pitches rivals the California recall. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expected to activate its do-not-call list, which is up to 50 million phone numbers, on Oct. 1. But on Tuesday an Oklahoma federal judge said the FTC lacked such authority. Politicians heard the ringing in their ears. By Thursday–faster than any bill had cleared the Capitol since the 1941 declaration of war on Japan–Congress empowered the FTC to deploy its list.
Minutes after the Senate voted, however, a second federal judge, in Denver, ruled that the no-call registry violated the First Amendment by limiting only commercial speech, leaving alone charities, pollsters and politicians. "Unpopular speech is the only kind of speech that ever needs protection," says Robert Corn-Revere, a Washington attorney who represents the industry. The Direct Marketing Association (D.M.A.) argues that a list of 60 million numbers would halve call volume, cause hundreds of thousands of job losses and lead to more jobs moving to less expensive work forces in Asia. Consumer advocates warn against overprotecting commercial speech but criticized the tele-vigilantes who bombarded the courthouses with phone calls.
The FTC indicated on Friday that it would appeal the Denver ruling. The D.M.A. meanwhile, has tried some belated image repair by encouraging its members to honor the FTC list voluntarily. More than 24 states maintain their own lists. On Friday, an appeals-court victory for the Federal Communications Commission in a similar suit encouraged the FTC to believe it will ultimately win in court. Either way, the telemarketers won't easily shrug off public ire. "All the telemarketers will have done is increase [the list's] size by 50%," said FTC chairman Timothy Muris. But the fight could take months as the courts weigh consumer-privacy claims against constitutional protections on commercial speech. For now, do-not-call remains on hold.
—from TIME, October 6, 2003
Questions
1. On what basis did a judge rule that the no-call registry violates the First Amendment?
2. What is the cartoonist's view on this issue?