March 28th, 2008 | 
Author: unless you move in certain circles and read certain blogs, it’s very likely that you’ve never heard of Ottawa University Law Professor Michael Geist. He holds the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law there and, as such, has been a bit of a thorn in the side of an assortment of lawmakers in Ottawa for a number of years. A very sharp, toothed, barbed thorn.
Whether it’s on subjects like copyright, censorship, privacy or a host of other issues, Geist has probably got something to say about it. You can be darned certain that it will be a reasoned, well-informed, user-centric opinion as well.
He’s been championing the idea of a “Do Not Call” list for years. The version that the US has is a decent start, but it’s not perfect: you register your phone number with the government-run list and telemarketers have to remove your number from their lists or face heavy fines. The problem is that the list expires after 5 years and you have to register again.
A Canadian version has been in the works for some time, but he’s grown tired of waiting and set up an online service:
Regular readers of my work will know that I have been frustrated by Canada’s do-not-call list, which contains far too many exceptions and has taken an embarrassingly long time to become operational. In response, today I am launching iOptOut, a website that will allow Canadians to opt-out of further phone calls (and emails) from dozens of organizations with a single click
So, you create an account on the site and choose which organizations (which will be exempted from the legislation when it finally takes effect) you do not want to be contacted by. You can also specifically allow any of those organizations to contact you as well. The site then generates and sends requests to each organization listed to add to you their own “do not call” lists.
It’s up to you to enforce your opt-out status, though:
By registering with iOptOut, you inform the organizations that you select listed in our database that you do not want them to call you. Under the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), these organizations would be required to respect your request. At the present time, iOptOut relies on PIPEDA, which overrides Bill C-37’s exemptions.
If an organization contacts you after you make a do-not-call request to it through iOptOut, PIPEDA allows you to enforce your request by filing a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner. Call the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Investigations Branch during business hours at 1-800-282-1376 or visit them online. The Office will provide you with information and advice on how you should proceed with your complaint.
So, if you’re a Canuck, login and set your options. There’s even an option to tell the server to delete your information after the requests are sent. How cool is that?
If you’re not Canadian, ask yourself why nobody has bothered to to do this for your country?
UPDATE: Added the enforcement information. We’ll talk about PIPEDA and how we get screwed, in spite of it, on an almost daily-basis another time. 
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been there.. done it and waiting for the main legislation to start to sign up for that one. (oh and the tshirt
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Michael DOES say on his blog (and a link) for the US based equivalent list I thought.
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Ahh, I found it: https://donotcall.gov/ That’s the semi-functional US registry … I can’t imagine that the Brits or Irish welcome these calls, either. Mind you, local calls are not free there.
While it’s a great idea, in reality there’s no incentive for the companies to pay attention to the request. There’s no penalties for them ignoring the requests, as the legislation isn’t 100% in place yet.
The penalties need to be in place to stop the companies from abusing any lists that they have.
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That’s where you’re mistaken, Ken. A legitimate request, as generated by this site, is enforceable under PIPEDA. As a banker, I know you’re familiar with it.
I just added the enforcement instructions above.
I wasn’t mistaken – I just didn’t check out the website
He’s using existing legislation, as opposed to trying to get a jump on new legislation.
And yes, I am passingly familiar with PIPEDA. That being said, more importantly I pay attention to my employer’s database. We have a way to track the “do not call” requests on our own, and should I have a need to contact a client for a telemarketing purpose, I can check their profile. If they’ve updated it, and requested No Calls, then I don’t call them.
Our clients are really good about that – they do a good job letting us know if they want to be contacted.
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In this case, not checking the site and answering anyway = mistaken, Ken.
One of these days, I’ll bend your ear about how Canadian banks expect to comply with PIPEDA and STILL process credit card transactions in the US where the information is subject to Govt scrutiny.
The main problem with the U.S. version of do-not-call is not the five year period (it is very quick & simple to re-register — although legislation has been proposed to make it a permanent list as well) — the main problem is the exceptions they put in. The list does not apply to any company with which you have had a business relationship (your bank, insurance company, credit card company, stock broker, real estate agent, on-line store, etc., etc.) — also does not apply to charitable organizations — and also (worst of all) does not apply to any political candidate or party.
In addition, there are companies that simply break the law.
Ahh, good to know, Jim. That’s Geist’s point about our legislation as well: far too many exemptions. Airlines are exempted, for heaven’s sakes. His site takes care of all the company types that are not covered.
For the record, Gordo, our ‘Murican Do Not Call registry has decided our registration will NOT expire. Go to http://www.donotcall.gov for a link to an excellent article about it. I’ve been signed up for a couple of years now and definitely appreciate the difference. Even considering the exceptions, the volume of irritating phone calls is waaaay down. Heck, I remember one time getting a call from a telemarketer during (gasp!) Monday Night Football!