Word: robo
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...States like California, Indiana and New Jersey have banned political robo-calling outright, but such laws are routinely flouted - not only because few agencies enforce the rules but because voters are often unaware that their rights are being violated. Indiana's Attornery General unsuccessfully sued a Democratic non-profit group, American Family Voices, for launching a series of robo-calls against then-Rep. Mike Sodrel. Though the state's supreme court heard his appeal in June, it still hasn't issued its ruling...
...Robo-calls can also make an already contentious election that much nastier. In 2000, Republicans John McCain and George W. Bush attacked one another for automated phone calls that used the words "vicious bigot" and "satanic cult;" both campaigns denied responsibility, blaming overzealous supporters, while McCain went so far as to refer to them as "hate calls...
...With costs so cheap, even private citizens are getting involved. One DIY "robo-caller" from Austin, Texas funded his own phone drive during the South Carolina primary that targeted Hillary Clinton. The recorded message included claims that Clinton had paid someone to kill an opponent's cat: "Hillary thinks cats are expendable. Can you trust her?" In May, the Minnesota Family Council recorded messages that used the words "anal and oral sex" in an effort to defeat a bill for sex education in school; ironically, the organization received complaints from parents whose children had answered such calls. In March...
...Political robo-calls are regulated by the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which requires the organization or individual sponsoring the message to identify themselves as well as provide a telephone number or address to which voters can respond. But because robo-calls are considered a form of political speech, they are protected by the First Amendment and, therefore, not subject to the National Do-Not-Call Registry created in 2003 that allows consumers to block unwanted telemarketing calls...
...February, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced The Robocall Privacy Act, banning political robo-calls to the same household more than twice a day and mandating that such calls be made during the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. It didn't take long for the American Association of Political Consultants to launch a fundraising drive to challenge the bill. Congress has yet to vote...