The Harris Poll^® #51, September 4, 2003

A large majority of all adults correctly say that the registry applies to "telemarketing, sales related or commercial calls" though significant numbers still not sure which calls apply.

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The FTC recently announced that approximately 42 million telephone numbers had been registered on the National Do Not Call Registry. This list is intended to regulate the number of unsolicited telephone calls that the public receives. While many Americans are familiar with the National Do Not Call Registry and have registered their telephone calls, the public is still not completely sure which calls apply to the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, only fifty percent of those who have registered or are planning to register think that the number of unsolicited calls will go down a lot. Based on the latest findings, Harris Interactive^® estimates that approximately 60 million households will eventually register for the National Do Not Call Registry.

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,011 adults surveyed by telephone between August 12 and 17, 2003. Here are some additional findings from this survey:

• Seven out of ten Americans (71%) have seen, read or heard about the National Do Not Call Registry. Most people received their information about the registry from television, evenly split between national and local television (32% each). Another quarter (27%) got their information from local newspapers, 18% by word of mouth and 16% from the Internet.
• About a third of all adults (32%) claimed that they have registered for the Do Not Call Registry as of mid August. Among those who have not registered, four in ten (42%) (or 29% of all adults) said that they were planning to register. In total, this represents six out of ten (60%) who might eventually register if we combine those who say they have registered with those who say they are planning to register.
• An overwhelming majority (83%) thinks that the registry is a good idea. This number rises to 94% among those who are registered or who are planning to register. Even among those who have not registered and who are not planning to register, two-thirds (66%) think the registry is a good idea.
• Half (50%) of those who have registered or are planning to register think that unsolicited telephone calls will go down "a lot" while another 37% think that the calls will go down "a little" and 11% think they will "not go down at all." Among those who have not registered and who are not planning to register only a quarter (27%) think that the calls will go down "a lot" with the remaining 66% saying that the calls will go down "a little" (33%) or not at all (33%).

Despite the popularity of the Do Not Call Registry, there is some confusion over which telephone numbers apply to the registry. A large majority of all adults (84%) (and an even larger 93% among those who are registered or are planning to register) correctly say that the registry applies to "telemarketing, sales related or commercial calls." However, significant numbers of people also think that the registry applies to fund-raising calls from political parties and candidates (42%), calls to conduct surveys about products and services (42%), to fund raising calls from non-profit and charitable organizations (37%), calls to conduct surveys or polls about other subjects for the media (31%), calls to conduct surveys or polls for political parties or candidates (30%) and, finally, calls to conduct government or academic survey research (23%).

• Only 9% say that the registry only applies to telemarketing calls
• Over a third (36%) thinks that the registry will apply to most of these calls mentioned (4 out of 7)

Not surprising, but large numbers of Americans think that telemarketing calls are "always annoying" (77%). The other calls also generate their share of annoyance including:

• Fund raising calls from political parties or candidates (43%)
• Fund raising calls from non-profit or charitable organizations (31%)
• Calls to conduct surveys about products and services (30%)
• Calls to conduct surveys for political parties or candidates (28%)
• Calls to conduct surveys about other subject for the media (25%)
• Call to conduct government or academic survey research (18%)

It is important to acknowledge that because this poll was conducted by telephone and telephone surveys are part of the content of the survey, this Harris Poll may be subject to a bias. However, overall, the public thinks that the National Do Not Call Registry is a good idea though people are somewhat unrealistic about its impact. Many think that the registry will reduce the number of unsolicited calls but sizeable numbers think that they won’t go down much. Further, the public will probably be very happy if the number of telemarketing and other sales related calls goes down significantly but might be disappointed when the other calls (including telephone surveys such as The Harris Poll) remain unaffected.

David Krane is Senior Vice President of Public Policy Research, Harris Interactive^®, and project manager for The Harris Poll^®.

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

Base: All Adults

"Where did you get your information about the national ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’? Was it from – national newspapers, local newspapers, magazines, national television, local television, radio, the Internet, word-of-mouth from friends or family or some other source?"

Base: Have seen, read or heard about registry

REGISTERED FOR DO NOT CALL REGISTRY

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

Base: All Adults

"Are you planning to register for the national ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ list?"

Base: Have not registered

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

"Are you planning to register for the National ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ list?"

Base: All Adults

"Based on what you may know, do you think the National ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ list is a good idea or a bad idea?"

"As a result of people registering for the National ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ list, do you think that the number of unsolicited telephone calls you receive will go down a lot, go down a little or not go down much at all?"

"Which of the following calls do you think that the National ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ list applies to?"

"The National ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ list is intended to regulate the making of unsolicited telephone calls. On a scale of 1 to 5 how much do (READ ITEM) annoy you where ‘1’ means ‘very rarely annoying’ and ‘5’ means ‘always annoying’"?

Base: All Adults

The Harris Poll^® was conducted by telephone within the United States between August 12 and 17, 2003 among a nationwide cross section of 1,011 adults (ages 18+). Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. 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 (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

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Q855 – Q890