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Bill Would Add Texting To Do Not Call Law

Kanaka Menehune

Florida’s “do not call” list bars telemarketers from bothering those who opt out of unwanted solicitations and phone calls. Now, one lawmaker wants to expand that to include text messages.

Jennifer Ramos said getting advertising text messages that she didn’t sign up for can be pretty annoying. And she said it makes sense for the government’s rules to keep up with changing technology.

“I think that that’s a fair option, if that was something they did with the ‘do not call list,’ I think it would, especially for individuals that don’t have unlimited text messaging and it might cost them on their end, I think it could be a helpful thing,” Ramos said.

Meanwhile Susan Sentenac says for her it’s about more than cost.

“I want to talk to who I want to talk to. I don’t want to be contacted by people I don’t care about, or that offend me, or whatever,” Sentenac said.

Sentenac said she’s tried to get companies to stop texting her before, but it hasn’t helped much.

“It went nowhere. They don’t set themselves up for that kind of response. They don’t want that kind of response. You need to have some kind of public policy,” Sentenac said.

Lake Worth Democratic Senator Jeff Clemens is filing a bill to help with that. Clemens’s bill would expand the state’s "do not call list" to include bans on unsolicited voice, text or electronic communications through a landline, mobile or internet telephone services.

Follow @Regan_McCarthy

Regan McCarthy is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media. Before coming to Tallahassee, Regan graduated with honors from Indiana University’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. She worked for several years for NPR member station WFIU in Bloomington, Ind., where she covered local and state government and produced feature and community stories.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

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