Don't Call Me
The Denver Post
March 4, 2001

Personal privacy. It's something we all cherish. We want our medical records kept private. We want our personal lives kept out of the press. We want our time with our families to be free from unwanted intrusions.

We have a right to personal privacy. No one should be able to enter our homes without getting permission. Grieving families should not have to endure microphones in their faces from some reporter trying to get a lurid story. Police should not be able to search our bodies or our cars on a whim.

Nonetheless, our lives are filled with invasions of our privacy. Our mailboxes carry little but junk and bills. Our emails are crammed with advertisements and pornography we don't want. And, our evenings are rudely interrupted by telemarketers.

Unwanted email is easy-just press "delete" and it's off in the netherworld. Same with mail-toss it in the nearest trash can. But, it's not so easy with telephone calls. You have to get up from whatever you're doing, find the phone and answer the annoying ring. How many times have you just started dinner with your family when the phone has rung? It's not your mother, whom you can call back. It's not even your daughter's best friend. It's someone selling something you don't want. Interrupting your personal time and privacy with a solicitation you resent.

I try to tell myself that the person on the other end of the line is just trying to support herself and her family. I tell myself to politely say "no" and hang up. Sometimes, though, these callers are downright aggressive and hostile. Besides, it's really rude to interrupt someone at home in the evening, particularly with an unwanted advertisement for an unwanted service or product.

That's why I hope the Colorado Legislature passes Senate Bill 93, sponsored by Senator Ken Chlouber. That bill would let each of us choose whether or not we wanted solicitation phone calls. We could sign up for a free "no-calls" list that telemarketers would be required to buy. They would be prohibited from calling anyone on the list.

Now, the telemarketers will tell you they have their own national program for consumers who don't want these bothersome phone calls. They tell you the same thing about junk email and trash mail. Believe me, I've signed up for all these "don't-ever-bother-me-with-your-junk-again" lists, all for naught. They simply don't work. The junk continues to pile up and the intrusive phone calls continue to interrupt my dinner.

A similar bill last year was killed in the State House of Representatives. You can bet the direct marketers are out in force in our state capitol trying to kill this year's bill. They claim it will be too expensive to buy and monitor 50 different state lists. Bunk! With today's computer systems and merge software, they can manage just fine. And you and I will be able to enjoy our personal time uninterrupted.

Those who want to get solicitation calls simply don't sign up for the "don't call" list. Each of us can choose. Non-profit organizations and political campaigns can still call you-they're protected by the First Amendment right to free speech. Even telemarketers who hope to make money from interrupting our privacy are likely to benefit. Think how expensive it is to call someone who doesn't want to hear from you. The telemarketers' time could be spent much more efficiently by concentrating on those people who really want to hear about their products or services rather than those who will quickly hang up.

Protecting our personal privacy is hard enough in this wired world of ours. People can listen in on our cell phone calls, hack into our computers, get information off our accountant's or doctor's databases. This is an ongoing battle for Americans, one we can't afford to lose. That's why Senator Chlouber's bill, in a small but important way, makes such a difference for us. It gives us a tool to protect our private time. That is a protection we sorely need.