TOPEKA — With just under two weeks before the primary election on Aug. 3, candidates may be using robo-calls more and more to get their message out.
Robo calling is an automated phone call that uses a computerized autodialer and delivers a pre-recorded message.
However, there are guidelines that political campaigns have to use if they employ robo calling as part of their campaign.
Federal law requires that all telephone calls using pre-recorded messages must identify who is initiating the call and the message must also include a telephone number where the initiator can be reached.
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said that he has contacted Kansas political campaign committees to remind them of the federal regulations.
“As the primary election day draws near, voters will receive an increasing number of political robo-calls,” said Six. “Political campaigns are now on notice: I will be aggressively enforcing the law against robo-calls that fail to disclose the proper information.”
During the 2010 Kansas Legislative session, Six introduced the Kansas Robo-Call Privacy Act (SB 456) which was defeated in the Kansas Senate. The measure would have established a comprehensive restriction on unsolicited robo-calls in Kansas.
“Although state law does not yet allow me to protect Kansans’ privacy rights from political robo-calls, federal law authorizes me to make every effort to ensure that campaigns using robo-calls are not shrouded in secrecy,” Six said.
He said that his office has received “frequent” complaints about unsolicited robo-calls. Despite the fact there is no state regulation on robo calling, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires robo-calls to state clearly at the beginning of the call the identity of the party responsible for initiating the call.
The call also must include the telephone number of the party initiating the call so that the person receiving the call will have an opportunity to demand not to receive any further calls. The telephone number provided may not be a 900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or long distance transmission charges. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office is empowered to enforce the Act in Kansas. Violators of the Act may be subject to court-ordered injunctions and damages of up to $1,500 per violation.
On the Web:
Kansas Attorney General: http://www.ksag.org
