So the future starts today.
The board of Responsible Enterprises Against Consumer Harrasment (R.E.A.C.H.) just officially adopted R.E.A.C.H. Standards V. 2.0–a set of standards designed to assure lead generators respect consumer privacy to an extent greater than mandated by law. The goal is to assure a healthy ecosystem where businesses can exist and thrive while consumer privacy is respected and robocalls are NEVER made to a consumer without consent.
The standards accomplish everything consumers would want, including:
- Requiring crystal clear disclosures anytime a webform submission might result in a robocall;
- Limiting the number of times a consumer’s data can be sold and the number of calls they might receive;
- Requiring clear identification of callers the consumer will hear from, the subject matter of those calls, and the timeframes those calls will last;
- Banning the use of pre-recorded or artificial voice calls as the first outreach for calls made in reliance on third-party leads;
- Requiring fraud detection, third-party witness software and the use of the reassigned numbers database; and (maybe most importantly)
- Banning the practice of selling consumer leads to the highest bidder– from now on website operators have to use an objective rationale for connecting a good or service provider with a consumer.
All of this was done VOLUNTARILY by the great businesses that are members of R.E.A.C.H. in an effort to restore trust and confidence and allow folks to answer their phones again!
A complete copy of the standards will shortly be available on the REACH website (reachmbc.com) and you can request a copy from me or Jenniffer@troutmanamin.com
Really a big day and I hope everyone will say a few words of thanks to the standards committee members and the board for their efforts here.
Chat soon!