National Do-Not-Call Registry: Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults Are Registered

An interesting "Harris Interactive" report which could be illustrative for the potential future developments in Europe.

 Majority who has registered report receiving fewer telemarketing calls 

 The Federal Trade Commission’s National Do-Not-Call Registry continues to be successful. A large majority of the U.S. adult population says they have registered and that they have received fewer telemarketing calls.

Approximately three-quarters of all U.S. adults (76%) say that they have signed up for the registry; a significant increase from January 2004 when 57 percent reported that they had registered. Many of these adults say they have either received no telemarketing calls since then (18%) or that they have received some calls, but far fewer than before (61%). Only a few of those who have registered report receiving the same number (6%) or more (1%) telemarketing calls than before.

These are the results of a Harris Poll of 1,961 U.S. adults aged 18 or over surveyed online between December 8 and 14, 2005 by Harris Interactive^®.

Other interesting findings in this research include:

• The proportion of all adults who have seen, read or heard about the registry has increased slightly from 91 percent in September 2004 to the current 94 percent.
• The proportion of all adults who claim to have signed up for the registry has increased from 32 percent in September 2003, to 57 percent by January 2004, to the current 76 percent.
• Over nine in 10 (92%) of those who have registered report receiving fewer telemarketing calls, including the 18 percent who say they have received none, 61 percent who have received some but far less than before, and 12 percent who have received some, but a little less than before.

Many of those signed up for the registry (63%) do not know if survey research firms and pollsters are allowed to call numbers that are registered. This has not changed since January 2004. Still one-quarter (24% of those registered) knows that researchers are allowed to call because they are exempted from the do-not-call restrictions. Some adults (13% of those who have registered) mistakenly believe that survey research firms and pollsters are not allowed to call, up slightly since January (8%).

Seven in 10 (70%) of those listed on the registry report that they have been called to do a poll or survey since signing up. This is a large increase since January 2004 when just four in 10 (41%) of those who were registered said that they had been called to do a poll or a survey. This result doesn’t tell us whether there has actually been an increase in the number of survey calls or whether there is now a greater awareness by people of the distinction between telemarketing calls and survey calls.

"Have you seen, read or heard about the National ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ list that the Federal Trade Commission set up and which went into effect as of October 1, 2003?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

* Less than 0.5%.

"Have you registered for the National ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’?"

Base: All adults

"Since you signed up, have you received any telemarketing calls?"

Base: All who have registered

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"Since you signed up, have you been called by anyone who was doing a poll or a survey and wanted to ask you questions?"

Base: All who have registered

"Do you know if survey research firms and pollsters are allowed to call numbers that have signed up with the ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’?"

Base: All who have registered

The Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between December 8 and 14, 2005 among 1,961 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 1,571 say that they have registered for the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do-Not-Call Registry. Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Sampling error for Do-Not-Call registrants (1,571) is slightly higher (plus or minus 2.5 percentage points). Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample was not a probability sample.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.