Americans Embrace 'Do Not Call' List
Public perception of impact may be unrealistic, however

The FTC recently announced that approximately 42 million telephone numbers had been registered on the National Do Not Call Registry. This list is intended to regulate the number of unsolicited telephone calls that the public receives. While many Americans are familiar with the registry and have registered their telephone numbers, the public is still not completely sure which calls apply to the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, only 50 percent of those who have registered or are planning to register think that the number of unsolicited calls will go down a lot. Based on the latest findings, Harris Interactive® estimates that approximately 60 million households will eventually register for the National Do Not Call Registry.

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,011 adults surveyed by telephone between August 12 and 17, 2003. Here are some additional findings from this survey:

• About a third of all adults claimed that they have registered for the Do Not Call Registry as of mid-August. Among those who have not registered, 42% said that they were planning to register.
• An overwhelming majority (83%) thinks that the registry is a good idea. This number rises to 94% among those who are registered or who are planning to register. Even among those who have not registered and who are not planning to register, 66% think the registry is a good idea.
• Half of those who have registered or are planning to register think that unsolicited telephone calls will go down “a lot” while another 37% think that the calls will go down “a little” and 11% think they will “not go down at all.” Among those who have not registered and who are not planning to register, 27% think that the calls will go down “a lot” with the remaining 66% saying that the calls will go down “a little” (33%) or not at all (33%).

Despite the popularity of the Do Not Call Registry, there is some confusion over which telephone numbers apply to the registry. A large majority of all adults (84%) correctly say that the registry applies to “telemarketing, sales related or commercial calls.” However, significant numbers of people also think that the registry applies to fundraising calls from political parties and candidates (42%), calls to conduct surveys about products and services (42%), to fundraising calls from non-profit and charitable organizations (37%), calls to conduct surveys or polls about other subjects for the media (31%), calls to conduct surveys or polls for political parties or candidates (30%) and calls to conduct government or academic survey research (23%).

• Only 9% say that the registry only applies to telemarketing calls
• Over a third (36%) thinks that the registry will apply to most of these calls mentioned.

Not surprising, but large numbers of Americans think that telemarketing calls are “always annoying” (77%). The other calls also generate their share of annoyance including:

• Fundraising calls from political parties or candidates (43%)
• Fundraising calls from non-profit or charitable organizations (31%)
• Calls to conduct surveys about products and services (30%)
• Calls to conduct surveys for political parties or candidates (28%)
• Calls to conduct surveys about other subject for the media (25%)
• Call to conduct government or academic survey research (18%)

It is important to acknowledge that because this poll was conducted by telephone and telephone surveys are part of the content of the survey, this Harris Poll may be subject to a bias. However, overall, the public thinks that the National Do Not Call Registry is a good idea though people are somewhat unrealistic about its impact. The public will probably be very happy if the number of telemarketing and other sales related calls goes down significantly but might be disappointed when the other calls (including telephone surveys such as The Harris Poll) remain unaffected.

David Krane is Senior Vice President of Public Policy Research, Harris Interactive, and project manager for The Harris Poll.
editorial@lanereport.com

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