Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank the witnesses for coming before the committee.
This first question is for Dr. Geist. It's probably not surprising that I want to talk about the do-not-call list. In an article of April 28, you indicated that “The complicating factor is that the ECPA provisions related to the do-not-call list are exceptionally complicated and could be delayed for years.”
I just want to touch for a minute on the legislative summary. Maybe you can help us make some sense of this. It says:
Clause 6(7) is noteworthy, since it exempts two-way voice communication between individuals..., which would normally mean that telemarketing activities covered by the DNCL are exempted from the ECPA. However, later in the ECPA, clause 64 provides for the repeal of this exemption provision, which appears to indicate that while telemarketing activities covered by the DNCL may be exempt from the ECPA in the early stages of the Act’s implementation, it may be speculated that the government intends to eliminate that exemption at a later date. This would mean that all the requirements included in clause 6 of the ECPA would eventually become applicable to telemarketing activities as well, including a much more stringent consent standard than currently applied under the DNCL.
Is that an accurate reflection of where you think this piece of legislation is going?