Consumer Affairs

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As more consumers use technology, concerns about fraud and protecting consumers arise. Some of the consumer affairs issues NCSL has covered in this area include spam and wireless communications, among others.

The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 and Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud Abuse Prevention Act of 1994 make it illegal for a telemarketing firm to call after a consumer has asked not to be and requires the firm to keep "do-not-call" lists and provide penalties for contacting a consumer after they have asked to be put on these lists. State lawmakers passed a variety of bills that place restrictions on unsolicited telemarketing calls and regulate the use of automated dialing equipment.

Security breach legislation has been a hot topic since 2005. Now forty-six states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have enacted legislation requiring notification of security breaches involving personal information. 

NCSL also collects information regarding radio frequency identification (RFID). RFID technology can be thought of as a next-generation bar code. A simple RFID tag consists of a microchip and antenna, which when stimulated by a remote reader, sends back information via radio waves. The use of RFID has raised privacy concerns in some states, particularly with regard to linking personal information with RFID tags. NCSL tracks both state laws and pending legislation regarding RFID.

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