Attorney General Lockyer Says California Will Protect Consumers from Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

Attorney General Will Ask All Attorneys General to Join His Effort to Overturn Federal Court Ruling Regarding National Do Not Call Registry

Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today issued the following statement about the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ruling Monday in U.S. Security, et. al., vs. Federal Trade Commission:

"Californians want to stop the invasion of our homes by telemarketers pitching products and services that we don't want and didn't ask for. My office is committed to enforcing federal and state laws that will provide peace and quiet for all Californians who sign up to stop unsolicited commercial phone calls.

"The federal court ruling this week may delay, but it won't stop, the right of consumers in California and throughout the country to protect their homes from these annoying uninvited guests.

"It is important to remember that the court ruling does not invalidate California's laws regarding consumer protection and telemarketing calls. The court said the Federal Trade Commission exceeded its authority by establishing a federal registry of numbers that telemarketers are prohibited from calling. We, and members of Congress, believe that Congress granted the FTC all the authority it needs, and we will vigorously fight to have this bad ruling overturned. Many members of Congress already have publicly stated they will take whatever legislative action is necessary to ensure this important program proceeds. I have notified the FTC that, as president of the National Association of Attorneys General, I will lead a ‘friend of the court' effort among all of the states to have this ruling overturned.

"Governor Gray Davis has committed to signing a bill I sponsored, SB 33 by Senator Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, which will allow us to enforce state and federal Do Not Call laws using the national registry. We are still evaluating the situation, but we believe the bill will be needed, whether or not the ruling is overturned, to allow us to begin protecting the privacy of more than 6.1 million Californians who have signed up for the national registry. We are working with the governor to enact our own state registry should the ruling be upheld."

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