That dreaded ring of the phone. It could be a bill collector. Or, worse yet, an automated phone call from a political party or candidate.
Wisconsin residents are very familiar with "robocalls." We received them from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton prior to last February's Democratic Party primary. We got calls from John McCain last summer before Wisconsin became a lost state for the Republican Party presidential candidate.
"It got to the point last fall where people were dreading the sound of their phone ringing," state Rep. Roger Roth, R-Grand Chute, said. "If there is a person ... anywhere in Wisconsin that enjoyed getting these phone calls during the last election, I would love to hear from them."
Roth said it's time to end the phone harassment of Wisconsin citizens, and is proposing legislation to severely impede the use of robocalls. Roth's proposed legislation would extend the state's Do Not Call List to robocalls - "all unsolicited calls initiated by an automatic dialing announcing device." It is legislation state lawmakers should approve.
Doing so would give citizens the ability to block annoying robocalls, which shouldn't be treated any differently than the pestering telemarketing contacts that necessitated the Do Not Call List. Political parties and candidates still would be allowed to get their message out by phone if they wish, but it would have to be delivered by a live operator who either could do the talking or ask for permission to connect the listener to a recording. This protects a candidate's right to free speech while giving the private citizen the ability to shut themselves off from calls they do not wish to receive.
A similar law in Indiana recently was upheld by its state's supreme court. The court last month ruled 5-0 to allow the state's attorney general to pursue enforcement against alleged illegal use of autodialing machines. The court ruled that the case was about the use of technology rather than the content of the message.
That, too, is what Roth's proposed legislation is about. It's Roth's second attempt to give citizens the ability to block robocalls. And other legislators have made similar proposals in the past. With the memory of the 2008 robocalls fresh in our memories, it's time for state lawmakers to turn this proposal into a reality.
Wisconsin residents are very familiar with "robocalls." We received them from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton prior to last February's Democratic Party primary. We got calls from John McCain last summer before Wisconsin became a lost state for the Republican Party presidential candidate.
"It got to the point last fall where people were dreading the sound of their phone ringing," state Rep. Roger Roth, R-Grand Chute, said. "If there is a person ... anywhere in Wisconsin that enjoyed getting these phone calls during the last election, I would love to hear from them."
Roth said it's time to end the phone harassment of Wisconsin citizens, and is proposing legislation to severely impede the use of robocalls. Roth's proposed legislation would extend the state's Do Not Call List to robocalls - "all unsolicited calls initiated by an automatic dialing announcing device." It is legislation state lawmakers should approve.
Doing so would give citizens the ability to block annoying robocalls, which shouldn't be treated any differently than the pestering telemarketing contacts that necessitated the Do Not Call List. Political parties and candidates still would be allowed to get their message out by phone if they wish, but it would have to be delivered by a live operator who either could do the talking or ask for permission to connect the listener to a recording. This protects a candidate's right to free speech while giving the private citizen the ability to shut themselves off from calls they do not wish to receive.
A similar law in Indiana recently was upheld by its state's supreme court. The court last month ruled 5-0 to allow the state's attorney general to pursue enforcement against alleged illegal use of autodialing machines. The court ruled that the case was about the use of technology rather than the content of the message.
That, too, is what Roth's proposed legislation is about. It's Roth's second attempt to give citizens the ability to block robocalls. And other legislators have made similar proposals in the past. With the memory of the 2008 robocalls fresh in our memories, it's time for state lawmakers to turn this proposal into a reality.
