There’s a reason your cell phone isn’t as inundated with telemarketing robocalls as your landline is (if you still have a landline): federal law doesn’t allow it—for now. The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal that would chip away at that protection by allowing organizations and companies to leave voicemail on your cell phone without ever making the phone ring. And the Republican National Committee is all for it.
In a comment filed with the FCC on Friday, the RNC said it felt the telecom agency should clear the way for organizations — including, apparently, itself — to auto-dial directly to voicemail inboxes with prerecorded pitches. Failing to permit the practice, the RNC warned, could threaten the First Amendment rights of political groups.
“Political organizations like the RNC use all manner of communications to discuss political and governmental issues and to solicit donations — including direct-to-voicemail messages,” the RNC told the FCC. “The Commission should tread carefully so as not to burden constitutionally protected political speech without a compelling interest.
It’s not clear why the First Amendment would be threatened by a ban on ringless voicemail spam if it’s not threatened by a ban on robocalling to cell phones, but maybe that’s a slippery slope the Republicans are trying to set up. Shoot, maybe a year or two down the road the Republicans will argue that it would threaten their First Amendment rights for the FCC to prevent them from installing malware on our computers that sends constant pop-up Trump ads.
The Republican Party joins the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and, of course, every damn spam telemarketer in pushing the FCC to allow ringless voicemail. Let’s hope that the engineers at cell phone companies are coming up with filtering technology to send all ringless voicemail straight to the trash.
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2raaQZz
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