Criticism
Michael Geist, a professor of Law and authority on technology, has criticized the changes adopted in the amended Act. He observed that the legislation contained too many exemptions which would not result in a significant decrease in calls for subscribers of the DNCL. Geist expressed particular concern about the extent and duration of the existing business relationship exception.
In November 2008, it was reported that the CRTC had received thousands of complaints from individuals about the implementation of the Do Not Call List. People reported that they had actually experienced a notable increase in the number of calls since registering for the list, and were starting to get calls at cellular phone numbers that had never received telemarketing calls before.
However, VoxPop study found that 80% of those registered on the DNCL had noticed a reduction in calls; while 13% had seen an increase. The study concluded that the most likely explanation for the increase was due to timing of the launch of the DNCL with the financial crisis of 2007–2010 which was hitting American and other foreign companies harder than Canadian, and where unscrupulous telemarketers that did not care about Canadian laws were using random dialers to find new business.
In January 2009, numerous media and consumer advocacy organizations reported that anyone can use false information pretending to be a telemarketer and download a set of numbers from the list for a $50 fee. It took their reporter ten minutes to do so. It has been proposed that list may be being downloaded and used as a telemarketing list overseas, where there's little that can be done as the CRTC has no jurisdiction outside of Canada. Konrad von Finckenstein, Chair of the CRTC, responded to these allegations on June 16, 2009, labelling them an urban myth, and stating that the Government had looked into the claims and that there was "no evidence to substantiate them".
On February 2, 2009, A Toronto Star published an article by Michael Geist labelling the CRTC's do-not-call list a "disaster". The article recommended Parliament return to the original version of Bill C-37 by eliminating all exemptions. It further recommended cross-border cooperation to resolve jurisdictional issues and immediate tough enforcement to send a strong signal to violators.
Read more about this topic: National Do Not Call List
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—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)