December 8, 2010 -- The Federal Trade Commission is seeking comments on whether and how to strengthen the Caller ID provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The agency is seeking comments on how to make Caller ID more useful to consumers and combat technologies that hide telemarketers’ identities. The current Caller ID regulations give telemarketers flexibility in determining what telephone numbers to transmit, and in determining whether the name of the telemarketer, or the name of the seller or charity, is displayed on Caller ID services. FTC is concerned that “spoofing” or manipulating Caller ID names and numbers may become more common as telemarketers increasingly use advanced telecommunications technologies. The agency is seeking information in such areas as how widespread is consumer use of Caller ID services to screen unwanted calls, and do consumers use other services that rely on the transmission of calling party numbers such as call-blocking equipment, to avoid unwelcome telemarketing calls? Comments are due by Jan. 28.
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