Abusive telephone canvassing: a law to really put an end to it?
On average, a French person receives six cold calling calls per week. A law now requires consumers to give their consent before being bothered.
This student looking for an internship never leaves his phone and answers every call full of hope. But this unknown number isn't a future employer. “ In everyday life, it's annoying because we often expect important calls, and in the end, they're there to sell us products ,” he explains. Everyone experiences these unwanted phone calls selling all sorts of services. Six calls a week on average is too many.
This senator was inspired by the German model and is proposing a law that prohibits all commercial canvassing . “ Today, every French person is considered to have consented to being canvassed by telephone; tomorrow, they will be considered to have not consented ,” says Pierre-Jean Verzelen. To obtain your consent, you need to tick a box and provide a telephone number. If you are contacted without your consent, you can report it on a dedicated website or number. Parliamentarians are counting on the State to create them. Companies that violate the law risk fines of up to €500,000 and five years in prison for abuse of weakness.
Watch the full report in the video above
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