The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) is a federal regulation that implements the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 1994. The TSR aims to protect consumers from deceptive or abusive telemarketing practices, such as unwanted calls, false or misleading claims, unauthorized billing, and privacy violations1.

The TSR requires telemarketers and sellers to comply with the National Do Not Call Registry, which is a list of phone numbers of consumers who have indicated that they do not want to receive telemarketing calls2.

The TSR also requires telemarketers and sellers to honor the do-not-call requests of individual consumers, regardless of whether their numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry or not2.

A do-not-call request is a statement made by a consumer, either orally or in writing, that they do not wish to receive any more calls from a specific telemarketer or seller2.

The TSR requires an entity to share a do-not-call request across its organization when the operational structures of its divisions are not transparent to consumers3. This means that the entity must treat the do-not-call request as if it applies to all of its affiliates and subsidiaries that engage in telemarketing, unless the consumer would reasonably expect them to be separate and distinct entities based on their names, products, or services3.

The TSR does not require an entity to share a do-not-call request across its organization in the following situations:

When the goods and services sold by its divisions are very similar. This is not a relevant factor for determining whether the entity must share a do-not-call request across its organization. The key factor is whether the consumers can distinguish between the different divisions based on their operational structures3.

When a call is not the result of an error or other unforeseen cause. This is not an exception to the requirement to honor a do-not-call request. The TSR prohibits telemarketers and sellers from calling a consumer who has made a do-not-call request, unless the call falls under one of the specific exemptions, such as calls from or on behalf of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, calls to consumers with whom the seller has an established business relationship, or calls to consumers who have given prior express written consent2.

When the entity manages user preferences through multiple platforms. This is not an excuse for not sharing a do-not-call request across its organization. The TSR requires telemarketers and sellers to maintain an internal do-not-call list of consumers who have asked them not to call again, and to update the list at least once every 31 days2. The entity must ensure that the do-not-call request is recorded and communicated across all of its platforms that are used for telemarketing purposes3.

References: 1: Telemarketing Sales Rule 2: Q&A for Telemarketers & Sellers About DNC Provisions in TSR 3: Federal Register :: Telemarketing Sales Rule