Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday June 07 2017, @07:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the thats-a-lot-of-zeros dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

An eight-year investigation into Dish Networks, a direct-broadcast satellite service provider, resulted Monday in the largest fine ever levied for privacy invasion, with Dish facing a $280m bill.

The US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission brought the case after multiple complaints that people trying to sell the pay-per-view TV provider's services were ignoring the Do Not Call registry and disturbing people who really didn't appreciate the interruption. After investigating the case, the FTC handed it to the DoJ, which filed suit in 2009.

"The National Do Not Call Registry is a popular federal program for the public to reduce the number of unwanted sales calls," said acting assistant attorney general Chad Readler of the Justice Department's Civil Division.

"This case demonstrates the Department of Justice's commitment to smart enforcement of consumer protection laws, and sends a clear message to businesses that they must comply with the Do Not Call rules."

In a 475-page ruling [PDF], US District Judge Sue Myerscough of the Central District of Illinois detailed how Dish Network had run a telemarketing campaign to persuade new customers to sign up and also to call former customers in an attempt to convince them to resubscribe.

Initially Dish ran the calling systems itself, but then outsourced some of the work to retail third-party call centers. Some of these played fast and loose with the rules and called people on the federal Do-Not-Call list who had specified that they didn't want to receive telemarketing calls.

"Dish's reckless decision to use anyone with a call center without any vetting or meaningful supervision demonstrates a disregard for the consuming public," the judge wrote.

-- submitted from IRC


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday June 07 2017, @08:05PM (1 child)

    by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday June 07 2017, @08:05PM (#522179)

    Dish is happy the robocalls didn't use copyrighted music, because the RIAA settles for a discounted $10k per call.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 08 2017, @06:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 08 2017, @06:41PM (#522728)

    Dish is probably happy they get to keep the rest of the cash they made with the robocalls.