FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2003

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: John Winston (202) 418-7450

Washington, D.C. - Today the Commission's Enforcement Bureau, Telecommunications Consumers Division, announced the issuance of 13 citations during the period October 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002 for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) and the corresponding Commission's rules (see attached list). These actions follow nearly $7 million in forfeitures proposed or issued since December 1999. The rules prohibit the use of artificial or prerecorded voice messages and telephone facsimile (fax) machines to send unsolicited advertisements, and require telemarketers to honor do-not-call requests, among other things.

Additionally, since December 1999, a total of 205 TCPA citations have been issued by the Bureau:

175 for unsolicited fax advertisements, 28 for prerecorded unsolicited advertisements to residential phone lines, and 2 for failure to honor do-not-call requests. Detailed information on the Commission's enforcement actions in this area is available at http://www.fcc.gov/eb/tcd/working.html.

Prerecorded calls are unlawful when placed to a residential telephone line unless: the call is for emergency purposes; the recipient has given consent or has an established business relationship with the caller; the call is non-commercial or does not contain an unsolicited advertisement; or the caller is a tax exempt non-profit organization. All unsolicited fax advertisements are unlawful when they are sent to a fax machine without the recipient's prior approval, or when the sender does not have an established business relationship with the recipient. A citation is a warning to a non-regulated entity, as required in these circumstances by the Communications Act (Act), telling the party that the Commission has been made aware of a violation of the Act and/or the Commission's rules and providing information on possible penalties if the unlawful activity continues. The party has an opportunity to respond to the citation.

Consumers who have received prerecorded telephone advertising messages or unsolicited fax advertisements, or have experienced other violations of the TCPA and Commission rules, are encouraged to contact the Commission regarding the incident(s). Consumers can file a complaint by completing the on-line Consumer Complaint Form at www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html or by sending a letter summarizing the complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. Consumers can file complaints via telephone by calling the Consumer Center at 1-888-CALL-FCC. Consumers may be asked to provide documentation in support of their complaints.

Consumers may also file TCPA complaints with state authorities or bring a private suit in an appropriate court of their state. Consumers can bring private suits to enjoin the unlawful conduct and either recover the actual monetary loss stemming from the TCPA violation or receive up to $500 in damages for each violation, whichever is greater. The court may award treble damages if it finds that the defendant willfully or knowingly committed the violation.

Enforcement Bureau contacts: John Winston at (202) 418-7450 or Al McCloud at (202) 418-2499.