Telemarketing, Commercial Speech, and Central Hudson: Potential First Amendment Problems for Indiana Code Section 24-4.7 and other 'Do-Not-Call' Legislation, 37 Val. U. L. Rev. 347 (2002).

Abstract

Statedo-not-call statutes, limiting telemarketers' ability to telephone residents who requested their names be added to the list, were being enacted in nearly every state in the early 2000's. However, most of these statutes contain numerous exemptions for special interest groups that lobby state legislators. This article argues that these do-not-call statutes violate the First Amendment's protections for commercial speech as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court. The article traces the entire history of the Supreme Court's commercial speech jurisprudence from 1942, looks at past efforts to regulate telemarketing, and examines state do-not-call laws in light of increased U.S. Supreme Court protections for commercial speech, focusing in particular on Indiana's telemarketing legislation.