A few months ago, I first Pinged the National Do Not Call Registry. And now, that same registry is on hold because – get this – it curtails the right of corporations to free speech.
Here’s the thing. Corporations aren’t people.
I know, I know, that’s one that needs to sink in a bit because it’s so “out there.” But free speech is guaranteed for people in the Constitution – not corporations. The ruling against the Do Not Call Registry stated that by having this list, Congress was railing against one type of speech (commercial) over another (pollsters, et al – the ones unaffected by the Registry.)
Problem is, telemarketers without any kind of real regulation just started annoying the hell out of people. Calls at dinner, automated calls… it just kept going. This was the rare time in which government had a real option for those interested in phone silence (or at least, fewer junk calls.) Mind you, it is an option. The way the judge went off on this, you’d think Congress was requiring people to sign up.
And it’s popularity only demonstrated how needed this list was.
I strongly disagree that the Registry is a blow against free speech. More like a blow against these corporations from making money through annoyance. Boo hoo.
Posted in Everyday Life