CASRO Reports 'Victory Against Frugging'

US MR association CASRO has drawn members' attention to recent legislation which constitutes 'a powerful tool to combat 'frugging' (fundraising under the guise of research)'. It has also published letters to and from the FTC clarifying research's status under 'Do Not Call' and CAN SPAM legislation.

Titled 'Prohibited Deceptive Acts or Practices in the Solicitation of Charitable Contributions' (§310.3(d), Federal Register, Vo. 68, No. 19, 1/29/03), this provision makes it a violation of the Rule to 'misrepresent, either directly or by implication' any material information such as the 'nature, purpose or mission of any entity on behalf of which a charitable contribution is being requested.' The 1995 TSR's non-misrepresentation requirements addressed telemarketing 'sales' only.

Post-DNC, CASRO reports an increase in 'pseudo-surveys', saying that some telemarketers are once again using 'sugging' and 'frugging' as deceptive tools to reach the public, but encourages researchers to complain about their activities and hints that 'perhaps in the near future, we can put an end to these abuses of survey research'.

CASRO also published an advisory letter from FTC Staff Attorney David Torok answering a request from CASRO President Diane Bowers and clarifying MR's status under recent legislation. The letter, dated August 9th, confirms that survey research should be referred to as 'Not Covered' by DNC (Do Not Call) rather than 'Exempt' and that telephone researchers are not required to access the National DNC Database.

Torok had earlier (in a July 22 advisory) used the word 'exempt' but the new letter explains that the word was used 'in its informal, illustrative form rather than the technical, legal sense contemplated by the TSR and the DNC and was simply trying to carve all entities into two groups - those that must access the DNC, and those that are not required to access it' (CASRO's summary wording). He apologized for any confusion his use of 'exempt' may have caused.

CASRO believes that the distinction is critical to the industry, because referring to survey research organizations as 'exempt' indicates that they are subject to the Act and the regulations as telemarketers, 'a classification CASRO has fought against since these laws first came into existence'. The organisation's strong beliefs on this issue led to the recent split with joint industry body CMOR.

More information about CASRO and its Government & Public Affairs are available from www.casro.org

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.