Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: DNC Registry fees for telemarketers in FY 2017 increase, (Sep 6, 2016)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

The FTC is amending its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to increase the annual fees charged to telemarketers accessing phone numbers on the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry for fiscal year (FY) 2017, the agency has announced.

Telemarketers calling consumers in the United States must subscribe each year for access to the DNC Registry numbers and are required to download these numbers to ensure that they do not call those who have registered phone numbers. The first five area codes are free. Organizations that are exempt from the Do Not Call rules may obtain the entire list of DNC Registry numbers for free.

The following revised fees will become effective October 1, 2016:

• an annual fee of $61 (up from $60 in FY 2016) for access to the DNC Registry for each area code of data; and

• a maximum annual fee of $16,714 (up from $16,482 in FY 2016) for accessing area codes of data.

The $30 fee charged in FY 2016 for accessing an additional area code of data during the second six months of an entity’s annual subscription will remain the same for FY 2017.

These changes, which are technical in nature, have been adopted without change, making public comment unnecessary.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews