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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 29, 2021 01:33 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Timothy R. Bonner |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Wiretap Act Consumer Protection Exception |
| According to the Federal Communications Commission, Americans lose approximately $40 billion per year as a result of fraudulent telemarketing practices. In the past three years, the Better Business Bureau reports that complaints resulting from fraudulent telemarketing schemes have increased by 60% and show little sign of dissipating. In North America alone, hundreds of telemarketing firms exist for the sole purpose of defrauding Americans and American businesses. These firms will employ a variety of schemes to defraud unsuspecting individuals, including charity scams where the caller will solicit money for a nonexistent charity and scams that exclusively target vulnerable elderly populations. While the Telemarketer Registration Act and the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law exist to protect Pennsylvanians from these deceptive and illicit practices, many consumer protection advocates argue that combatting such schemes is hampered by the Pennsylvania’s Wiretap Act’s prohibition on the nonconsensual interception of conversations. In other words, when these consumer protection advocates request to record a conversation with a telemarketer, as required by the Wiretap Act, the telemarketer will often refuse or terminate the conversation. Accordingly, I intend to introduce legislation that creates an exception to the Wiretap Act, thereby permitting individuals to intercept the oral communications of a telemarketer for the purpose of enforcing consumer protection laws, including the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and the Telemarketer Registration Act. This legislation will permit any recipient of a telemarketing call to record the statements of the telemarketer for the purpose of holding that individual accountable under these consumer protection laws. I hope you will join me in cosponsoring this important legislation to better protect our Commonwealth residents. |
Introduced as HB1985