Protect Small Businesses from Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

March 1, 2024

This will just take three minutes of your time. Comments are due March 11.

(See Sample Comment)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a rule that will stop telemarketers from purchasing your private contact information and using it to bombard your business and personal phone lines with annoying calls. This is a huge win for consumers and small-business owners. These invasive calls cost you money and time, and the FCC’s rule will stop 90% or more of these telemarketing calls. 

But the companies who sell your contact info to telemarketers (lead generators) and the telemarketers themselves are challenging the rule. And the Small Business Administration is going to bat for the telemarketers–not you!

The FCC is now asking small businesses: Should these telemarketing calls to business and personal lines stop? Or should the status quo continue, with telemarketers flooding your businesses with pre-recorded telemarketing calls?

It’s a no-brainer. The FCC must protect small-business owners from invasive and costly calls. 

Telemarketers and lead generators should not be permitted to continue selling your personal information to companies that will only use it to harass you with telemarketing calls. It will only take you about 3 minutes or less.

Four important tips for filing a comment with the FCC: 

1. In the Proceedings line: type 02-278, and press your Return/Enter key.
   
2. Fill In your name, email and address. If you do not want your personal information revealed, you can type “anonymous business owner.” An address is required, but neither your address nor your email is displayed on the public facing website.
   
3. In the Brief Comments box, consider making the following points (in any order):
   •  You are the owner/manager/employee of a small business that sells ___ (describe briefly).
   • You rely on your cell phone to communicate with customers, suppliers, and others.
   • When telemarketers call, they tie up your phone lines, preventing the important calls from connecting.
   • Even when the unwanted calls go directly to voicemail, they clog your voicemail, and take up your time listening to them and deleting them.
   • These calls cost you time, and time is money for a small business.
     
4. Check the Yellow Highlighted box at the bottom of the FCC screen, continue to the Review Screen, Check the I am not a Robot box.   And click SUBMIT. 

Here is a sample comment – Use it and make it your own.

I am (the owner of, or the manager of, or I work for)  a small business. I rely on our phone lines to communicate with customers, suppliers, and others. When telemarketers call, they tie up the phone lines, preventing me from doing business and from receiving other important calls. Even when these unwanted calls go to voicemail, they clog up voicemail and require me to listen to and delete them. These calls cost me time, and time is money for small businesses. 

The FCC must close the lead generator loophole and stop telemarketers from harassing small business owners.