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On Fri, 7 Apr 1995, Diane Alters wrote:

>   Has anyone on the list done work on this issue?  What follows is a short 
> excerpt from a story in the March 31, 1995, issue of "The Inlander," a  
> publication of the Inland Press Association:
>   "The Federal Trade Commission has proposed rules that prohibit deceptive 
> telemarketing practices but which might also affect how newspapers use 
> telemarketers.
This is something that has been needed for quite some time, and simply 
has taken a while for congress to catch up to the technology.

>   "After Congress passed the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse 
> Prevention Act last year, the FTC issued its proposed rules in February.
>   "The rules define telemarketing as any program that induces payment for 
> goods or services through the use of a telephone.  The definition 
> includes the use of fax machines and computer modems as well as any 
> inbound calls made in response to advertisements, brochures or other 
> forms of communication....
The primary target, at this time are such products as 1-900 numbers 
offering products and services which are never delivered.  The internet 
has not yet made it possible to pass a check, but the potential for abuse 
still exists.  Ever been contacted by one of those companies that wants 
to give you a "credit card" for a $500 deposit?

>   Since nearly 80 newspapers can be found online, the proposed rules 
> concerning advertising via computer modem are also a concern, according 
> to NAA (Newspaper Association of America)....
The primary concerns are fraud and deceptive advertizing.  There are also 
concerns about intrusive advertizing.  On the internet this is called 
"spamming".  The automatic dialers that 

>   The FTC will hold a public workshop and conference concerning the 
> proposed rules April 18-20 in Chicago." 

>   Any thoughts on the NAA opinion that the proposed rules could affect 
> advertising online?
I have published several postings to this list on the topic of 
advertizing on-line.  The big concern today with regard to on-line 
advertizing is the form which constitutes an invasion of privacy.  With 
print media, I can pull out the interesting sections, turn to the 
interesting columns, and browse the advertizing near those columns.  
That's you put the Charles Schwab ad in the Financial or Business section 
instead of the Fashion section.  The wierd one is sports, what Tires,
Truck, and Beer have to do with sports I don't know, but then again, I 
don't really understand professional sports either.  It seems to be of 
real interest primarily to gamblers and drunks :-).

	Rex Ballard.

From rballard@cnj.digex.net Mon Apr 10 00:46:26 1995
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