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Corona State of Emergency and Telemarketing Implications

Over the weekend, the Governor of New York State declared a state of emergency to last until September 7, unless cancelled sooner (very possible). The basis of course is the current concern related to the spread of corona (the virus - not the beer). Under New York law, telemarketers cannot make unsolicited telephone calls during any such declared state of emergency. Note that if you have sufficient consent, you are not subject to the ban because your calls are not "unsolicited." Other exemptions apply, such as if there exists an established business relationship, for example.


New York Adopts Significant Changes to its Telemarketing Laws
Within the past several weeks, New York passed SB4777, SB1826, and AB117, creating the following important changes to the state’s rules governing the telemarketing industry:

All outbound telemarketing calls must include a disclosure informing the consumer that they may place their telephone number on the caller’s internal do-not-call (DNC) list. Telemarketers must honor requests immediately (no grace period). Effective March 1, 2020.
Telemarketers and sellers may not “transmit, share or otherwise make available” any consumer’s contact information, including name, telephone number, or email address, without the consumer’s express written consent. Effective March 1, 2020.
Telemarketers may not knowingly make an unsolicited telemarketing call to any person residing in any area of the state under a declared state of emergency.
Effective December 18, 2019. All call center employers must provide notice to the state at least 100 days before relocating to another state or foreign country. Effective June 1, 2020.

Federal regulations already require telemarketers to accept and honor internal DNC requests; however, the New York law goes further by requiring an affirmative disclosure of consumers’ rights. The Governor’s office lauded this as closing a “loophole” in the National DNC Registry.

The press release barely mentions the new prohibition against sharing contact information, despite its incredibly broad scope. The only exemption is where sharing is required by law. Unlike virtually every other privacy law or regulation, the statute doesn’t even expressly exempt sharing with service providers.



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[DTFdowntofund]

What's the source here?

[SFC]

What's the source here?

NBC NY:
Telemarketers will no longer be allowed to make calls during a 'State of Emergency' in NYS

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/lo...7-809a7ae56263

[tcpalitigatorlist]

https://www.whec.com/news/cuomo-tele...gency/5583225/




This law applies for most states that declare a state of emergency. Colorado just declared a state of emergency.

[SFC]

What's the source here?

AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting
telemarketers from knowingly placing unsolicited telemarketing sales
calls during a state of emergency or disaster emergency

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 399-z of the general business law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 5-a to read as follows:
5-A. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR ANY TELEMARKETER DOING BUSINESS IN THIS
STATE TO KNOWINGLY MAKE AN UNSOLICITED TELEMARKETING SALES CALL TO ANY
PERSON IN A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE UNDER A DECLARED STATE OF
EMERGENCY OR DISASTER EMERGENCY AS DESCRIBED IN SECTIONS TWENTY-FOUR OR
TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 399-pp of the general business law is
amended by adding a new paragraph f to read as follows:
F. KNOWINGLY MAKE AN UNSOLICITED TELEMARKETING SALES CALL TO ANY
PERSON IN A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE UNDER A DECLARED STATE OF
EMERGENCY OR DISASTER EMERGENCY AS DESCRIBED IN SECTIONS TWENTY-FOUR OR
TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.


Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/a117

So, it seems like it's against INDIVIDUALS, NOT BUSINESSES. Major distinction!

Also it DOES NOT reference any penalties.

[Enablement Data]

What's the source here?

Also...https://www.dnc.com/news/new-york-go..._hsmi=84472698

[Sachip24]

AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting
telemarketers from knowingly placing unsolicited telemarketing sales
calls during a state of emergency or disaster emergency

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 399-z of the general business law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 5-a to read as follows:
5-A. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR ANY TELEMARKETER DOING BUSINESS IN THIS
STATE TO KNOWINGLY MAKE AN UNSOLICITED TELEMARKETING SALES CALL TO ANY
PERSON IN A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE UNDER A DECLARED STATE OF
EMERGENCY OR DISASTER EMERGENCY AS DESCRIBED IN SECTIONS TWENTY-FOUR OR
TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 399-pp of the general business law is
amended by adding a new paragraph f to read as follows:
F. KNOWINGLY MAKE AN UNSOLICITED TELEMARKETING SALES CALL TO ANY
PERSON IN A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE UNDER A DECLARED STATE OF
EMERGENCY OR DISASTER EMERGENCY AS DESCRIBED IN SECTIONS TWENTY-FOUR OR
TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.


Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/a117

So, it seems like it's against INDIVIDUALS, NOT BUSINESSES. Major distinction!

Also it DOES NOT reference any penalties.

..https://www.dnc.com/news/new-york-go..._hsmi=84472698 in that link it mentions Business to Business is also prohibited.

[Sachip24]

AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting
telemarketers from knowingly placing unsolicited telemarketing sales
calls during a state of emergency or disaster emergency

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 399-z of the general business law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 5-a to read as follows:
5-A. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR ANY TELEMARKETER DOING BUSINESS IN THIS
STATE TO KNOWINGLY MAKE AN UNSOLICITED TELEMARKETING SALES CALL TO ANY
PERSON IN A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE UNDER A DECLARED STATE OF
EMERGENCY OR DISASTER EMERGENCY AS DESCRIBED IN SECTIONS TWENTY-FOUR OR
TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 399-pp of the general business law is
amended by adding a new paragraph f to read as follows:
F. KNOWINGLY MAKE AN UNSOLICITED TELEMARKETING SALES CALL TO ANY
PERSON IN A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE UNDER A DECLARED STATE OF
EMERGENCY OR DISASTER EMERGENCY AS DESCRIBED IN SECTIONS TWENTY-FOUR OR
TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.


Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/a117

So, it seems like it's against INDIVIDUALS, NOT BUSINESSES. Major distinction!

Also it DOES NOT reference any penalties.

https://www.dnc.com/news/new-york-go..._hsmi=84472698 in that link it mentions Business to Business is also prohibited.

[Sean Cash]

[I]

Also it DOES NOT reference any penalties.

That's because it amended an existing law. The penalty is up to an $11,000 fine per violation. So if you call 10,000 people, it could theoretically be....

[Sachip24]

Mon, 03/09/2020 - 10:06

On Saturday, March 7, New York governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency due to the spread of the coronavirus in the state. The primary purpose of this declaration is provide local governments quicker access to funding and resources to combat the spread of the virus. A somewhat unusual but significant side effect is that it triggers restrictions on sales calls thanks to the state’s new telemarketing bill.

Cuomo signed Senate Bill 4020 into law in December as part of a spate of telemarketing regulations, including The Nuisance Call Act. As explained on the governor’s website, it includes a provision that prohibits telemarketers from “knowingly making unsolicited sales calls to any individual in a city, county, town or village during a declared state of emergency.” Business-to-Business (B2B) calls are also prohibited by this law. The only exceptions are when callers have consent to contact the called party, when there is an Established Business Relationship (EBR), and political and survey calls.

[J.Celifarco]

Moral of the story... Do not cold call anybody in NY for the foreseeable future. Period the end

[Onepointwhat]

Can anyone verify the source of where the B2B calls are prohibited? I could have missed it but none of the bills seem to explicitly reference B2B calls, just calling individuals. The only place that mentions B2B is dnc.com which looks like a for-profit data provider.

[WestCoastFunding]

This makes total sense because literally hundreds of people have contracted the coronavirus from cold calls. If you do receive a cold call, clean phone immediately with hand sanitizer. If you are unsure if it’s a cold call or not, put on a condom before answering. If no condom is available, Saran Wrap also works.

[DTFdowntofund]

This makes total sense because literally hundreds of people have contracted the coronavirus from cold calls. If you do receive a cold call, clean phone immediately with hand sanitizer. If you are unsure if it’s a cold call or not, put on a condom before answering. If no condom is available, Saran Wrap also works.

bahaha

[Get It Done]

please refrain from cold calling doctors offices

[Adam2326]

Does this law apply to telemarketers IN the state of NY that are calling businesses within the state of NY, or all businesses that make calls to the state of NY / an area under a state of emergency? Also, how do you prove an individual "knowingly" called an individual in one of these areas? The implication is that they are calling an area already knowing it is in a state of emergency, as in ambulance chaser calls? Telemarketing calls that exploit the virus, or areas in state of emergency for financial gain? Or just a typical day to day sales call that happens to be to an individual in one of these areas? This is a dangerously wide scope...

[Jstarr]

https://mslawgroup.com/new-york-adop...arketing-laws/

[Jack23]

IMO;This is definitely a game changer for the industry....if I had to guess we might see a exodus to other states in the future.

[ryan $]

But Political and SUrvey calls are okay? Smh

[Chambo]

Does this law apply to telemarketers IN the state of NY that are calling businesses within the state of NY, or all businesses that make calls to the state of NY / an area under a state of emergency? Also, how do you prove an individual "knowingly" called an individual in one of these areas? The implication is that they are calling an area already knowing it is in a state of emergency, as in ambulance chaser calls? Telemarketing calls that exploit the virus, or areas in state of emergency for financial gain? Or just a typical day to day sales call that happens to be to an individual in one of these areas? This is a dangerously wide scope...

Why do you folks have to be dicks about it? DO NOT CALL NEW YORK NUMBERS, PLAIN & SIMPLE!!!!

Or in your eternal short sighted yearning for a buck, are you going to piss everyone off enough that they completely shut everything down?

USE YOUR F'ING HEADS PEOPLE!!!!

[Adam2326]

Why do you folks have to be dicks about it? DO NOT CALL NEW YORK NUMBERS, PLAIN & SIMPLE!!!!

Or in your eternal short sighted yearning for a buck, are you going to piss everyone off enough that they completely shut everything down?

USE YOUR F'ING HEADS PEOPLE!!!!

That was not being a dick about it, that was asking a legitimate question. Law is to be interpreted and when it is written vaguely there can be more than one interpretation. At no point does it say don't call New York, it references specific situations in the state of NY that warrant no calling. I was asking for clarification on what people are hearing or doing to comply with the law so that I/We do not have to deal with repercussions...

[Onepointwhat]

The law appears to be pretty far-reaching. It appears to say that if you do business in New York (either that's where you are located or that's where your potential customer is located), you aren't able to call any business under a State of Emergency. So if you want to do business in New York, you can't call California, Florida, Oregon, etc. Seems similar to international sanctions.

*not a lawyer

[Jack23]

https://www.businessinsider.com/cali...t-means-2020-3


19 states have declared a state of emergency....just letting my fellow ppl in NY....we can't call these states