Madigan Opposing 'Robocall' Legislation In Congress
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says residents might face a flood of robocalls to their cell phones if proposed legislation makes it through Washington.
Madigan says House Resolution 3035 would allow debt collectors to make robocalls to cell phones – up to ten robocalls daily – creating both an annoyance, a privacy invasion and an expensive waste of minutes for people who don't have unlimited call packages.
"Debt collectors want unfettered access to people's cell phones and they want to be able to send them robocalls. In other words, those calls where it's not a live human, but just a robocall," Madigan said.
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The attorney general says she does not oppose calls from debt collectors, but says she'd only allow calls from live agents, not robots, to cell phones.
Madigan says it's likely other businesses would start doing the same thing if debt collectors are allowed to make robocalls, which are now banned by both state and federal legislation.
Madigan and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller are urging residents of their states to call their federal representatives to oppose the legislation.
"They're proposing a bill that would unleash the flood gates -- the robocalls that can call up to 10,000 calls a minute to our cell phones," Zoeller said. "They don't understand why consumers may object to this."
Zoeller says if the bill passes, it would invalidate state laws blocking junk faxes, pre-recorded faxes and text messages.
