"Do Not Call" List Could Become Permanent

You know and love the Do Not Call list. It may not be perfect, and it seems powerless to stop the automated calls I get from some company promising a great price on cleaning my carpets (and they'll clean the hallway for free!!!), but it's the best thing we have for getting rid of telemarketing nuisance.

The catch with Do Not Call (and it's a small one) is that your registration expires after five years. For the millions of people who signed up when it was rolled out in June 2003, that means their phone numbers (to the tune of 50 million of them) will abruptly be taken off the list in June 2008, without warning. You can, of course, re-register, but I expect many will have long since forgotten that they need to do so.

Good news: A bill introduced in the House on Monday would make Do Not Call entries permanent, eliminating the need to re-register phone numbers. Why is permanence a good thing? Best quote, courtesy of bill sponsor Mike Doyle: "I suspect very few people are saying, 'Gee, I really miss getting those telemarketing calls at dinner time – I wish the government would take me off the do not call list.'"

More news as it develops, but overall it sounds like legislation I can really get behind. To find out when your Do Not Call entry expires, visit the Verify section of the DNC website. To renew your registration (and there's no reason not to do so), visit the Register page. Assuming the bill doesn't make it into law in a timely fashion, make sure you do so before your five years runs out!

LINK: Bill Would Make 'Do Not Call' List Permanent