Tag: Texas

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Anyone with a mobile phone knows the unpleasant sensation of answering a call from an unfamiliar number only to hear a pre-recorded marketing or scam pitch from a company you have no interest in patronizing. Around 33 million robocalls are made each day to Americans, according to the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)—more than 50 billion a year, says a Times report.

This is more than just an annoyance; in 2022, around 68 million Americans lost over $29 billion to scam callers, according to NCLC. These calls also make people less likely to answer their phone or trust valid phone calls they do receive, making the nation’s significant telecommunications infrastructure less valuable.

One of the most frustrating things about these calls, says Margot Saunders, senior counsel at NCLC, is that they are largely illegal. Government regulations say that a telemarketing call is only legal to a cell phone or residential line if the recipient of the call has provided “prior express written consent” to that call. (This is similar to rules of the National Do Not Call Registry, though consumers must opt in to that registry through the website of the Federal Trade Commission.) But often, the sellers and the telemarketers calling for them don’t have this consent.

The reason they’re getting away with continuing to make these calls is that the sellers, often big well-known companies, hire telemarketing firms to make the calls on their behalf. Often, these telemarketing firms buy consumer information—and, they argue, consent—from other companies, in a billion-dollar business called lead generation. Lead generators typically take one agreement from a consumer providing consent and sell that agreement to many different callers and sellers, who themselves resell it to many others. A consumer might have signed up to receive a call from one seller—say a car insurance quote—and then unwittingly clicked a box agreeing to be contacted by hundreds or thousands of companies loosely affiliated with the car insurance company.

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, the government made it much harder for sellers to make calls to numbers obtained from the lead generation industry. In a 4-to-1 vote, the Federal Communications Commission approved regulations that explicitly say that telemarketing robocalls are allowed only if the actual seller, not just the telemarketing company, has gotten written consent from the specific consumer.

“Today we put an end to this loophole,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, at the FCC meeting. “That means consumers get back the power to pick who they want to communicate with and when.”

The vote should help cut down on the number of robocalls made. Each illegal call, according to Congress, can lead to $500 in damages. “It will be much more difficult for sellers to try and escape responsibility,” Saunders says. The Electronic Privacy Information Center projected that the vote would eliminate the “great majority” of unwanted telemarketing calls and texts.

Of course, it could be a little while before anything changes. If companies continue to flaunt the rules, regulators may need consumers to turn them in and file lawsuits to hold those companies accountable. That’s not easy to do, says Saunders—you’d have to answer a robocall, find out who the seller is, and then file a lawsuit under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Many consumers may not have the time or the patience for that.

Still, the industry is preparing for a wave of new lawsuits under the Act. A defense attorney told Reuters that he expected to see lawsuit filings double or even triple going forward.
(Source: Time)

AUSTIN, TX (TIP): Taral Patel, an Indian American policy expert, who is running for Fort Bend County Commissioner in Texas, says he has received racist and xenophobic messages on social media. Patel, 29, a Democrat running from Precinct 3, shared a photo in a news release of some of the messages he’s received online.
Some social media users wrote that he is a foreigner and is trying to take away people’s freedom and guns. They questioned if he was “even” born in America.
Other people said they support Andy Meyers, the current commissioner, because he is Christian while Patel and his followers worship monkeys and elephants.
“As your Democratic candidate for County Commissioner, I am always open to criticism of my policy positions and stances on issues,” Patel stated.
“However, when my Republican opponent’s supporters decide to hurl #racist, #anti-immigrant, #Hinduphobic, or otherwise disgusting insults at my family, faith community, colleagues, and me – that crosses a line.”
“Fort Bend County’s diversity has made us all stronger, and these hateful images, a small sample attached here, are from a place of deep and misguided fear – incited by people like former President Donald Trump and today’s extremist Republican party fear that immigrants are ‘taking their jobs’ and setting out to hurt our own communities,” Patel stated.
Patel was previously the chief of staff for Fort Bend County. He grew up in the county, went to local schools, and said he is a proud American. Patel also said his campaign is focused on hard work and respect for all communities.
2023)
He quoted Fort Bend County Judge KP George, who also received xenophobic comments in the past. “The next time you hear or see someone making an anti-immigrant or racist comment, call them out. Stand up for your neighbors, your coworkers, and your children’s classmates. Stand up for Fort Bend, our nation’s most diverse county. In doing so, you’ll be standing up for a better future America, the land of the free and home of the brave,” George stated.
Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, who is seeking reelection, condemned the comments about Patel as “reprehensible,” according to KPRC 2.
“I do not know the people to whom these comments are attributed, but they are reprehensible and do not reflect my values or the values that made Fort Bend County such a wonderful, safe, and family-friendly place to live,” he stated.
Commenting on the messages Patel had received, the Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization, stated they are always concerned about how hate impacts our society.
“In this case, we’ve been very concerned for a while that the kind of hate that is infiltrating political discussions is challenging our democracy and our democratic institutions.
“And, this kind of rhetoric it has no place in (this country) whether it’s Fort Bend County, Harris County, Houston anywhere in the country,” said Mark B. Toubin, the Southwest Regional Director of ADL.

KNOXVILLE (TIP): Seema Singh, an Indian American member of Knoxville City Council, has announced she will run as a Democrat to represent District 90, on the north side of Knoxville, in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
That seat is currently held by Rep Gloria Johnson, a fellow Democrat running for the US Senate seat now held by Republican Sen Marsha Blackburn.
“I feel like I will be there (as a) bookmark for sanity,” Singh told Knox News Sep 20. “I will try to bring up the points of view that I think are important and push ahead for a lot of people who are not being represented or listened to.”
Her platform issues will be the funding of healthcare and education, defending women’s reproductive rights and economic issues.
“The state of Tennessee continues to say how we’re thriving,” she said. “But what I continue to see … is people being unhoused.”
Singh was elected to the city council to represent the 3rd District in 2017, becoming first South Asian American to be elected to any public office in East Tennessee. She was re-elected in 2021 for another four-year term.
“I think I have proven that I have integrity and that I will listen through different ideas,” she said. “Sometimes I change my mind as I get new information, which I think is important.”
While the district is comfortably blue, she isn’t taking anything for granted. “I think my odds are on how hard I work,” Singh told the newspaper. “It’s not going to be just a shoo-in by any means.” Singh has filed her treasurer appointment forms and will have a formal announcement later this year. Singh is the Executive Director of Healing the Home, a nonprofit agency serving families to address the abuse and trauma that are the result of generational domestic and intimate partner violence.
Singh was born in Varanasi, India. Her family moved to Knoxville in the mid ’70s when her father was hired as a professor at the University of Tennessee, according to her official profile.
She became a naturalized American citizen at age 13 and attended West Hills Elementary, Bearden Middle School and Bearden High School. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1996 with a major in Psychology with an emphasis on Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology.
Singh has volunteered with various community organizations including Tennessee Healthcare Campaign, Sexual Assault Crisis Center, Community Television of Knoxville, Community Voices, TN State Corrections Day Reporting Center, and Casa of East TN.
Singh is a graduate of Leadership Knoxville 2019, District Attorney’s Citizen Academy 2021, and KPD Citizens Police Academy 2022.
Singh is currently serving on the Knoxville Family Justice Center’s Coordinated Community Response team, Knox County Domestic Assault Death Review Team, The Metropolitan Drug Center Gateway Advisory Board, and The YMCA of East Tennessee Board. She is also City Council Representative and Chair of the Municipal Golf Committee.
Singh attends the Hindu Community Center and the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.