Bis 220 - Information Technology Acts

Information Technology Acts

BIS/220

Information Technology Acts

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. Before the telephone the main way to send a long distance message was to send it by telegraph. The telegraph was a not the most reliable invention because most messages did not make it or was miss interpreted on the receiving end. The telephone brought the world closer together and made communication instant over long distances instant. It modernized the way people and companies conducted business but over time it the telephone was abused by the way individuals used it to conduct business. Companies and telemarketers would call at all times of the day and night trying to sign people up for a program or sell you a product. In many cases it would be “auto dialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls, also known as “telemarketing robocalls.” (Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, FCC.gov.).

To prevent telephone abuse and harassment the Federal Communications Commission took measures to protect the consumers from these businesses by bring into effect the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. This act would restrict the use of prerecorded voice messages and the use of telephone dialing systems that were automatic (Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, FCC.gov.). If companies did not comply with the act they would be handed down a fine to deter them from using the telemarketing business practices but many businesses ignored the act.

This prompted the Federal Communications Commission in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission to revise the rules of the TCPA in 2003 and establish a national call registry (Policy