Editing Telemarketing (section)

==Negative perceptions and criticism==
{{See also|Telemarketing fraud}}

Telemarketing has been negatively associated with various [[Confidence trick|scams]] and [[fraud]]s, such as [[pyramid scheme]]s, and with deceptively overpriced products and services. Fraudulent telemarketing companies are frequently referred to as "telemarketing boiler rooms" or simply "[[Boiler room (business)|boiler rooms]]". Telemarketing is often criticized as an [[Business ethics|unethical business practice]] due to the perception of high-pressure sales techniques during unsolicited calls. Telemarketers marketing telephone companies may participate in [[telephone slamming]], the practice of switching a customer's telephone service without their knowledge or authorization.

Telemarketing calls are often considered an annoyance, especially when they occur during the dinner hour, early in the morning, or late in the evening. A common complaint about telemarketing has been that the calls are a nuisance and a distraction. In 1909, one target of the unwelcome calls declared "My telephone is far more of a nuisance to me than it is a convenience".<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015080168233&seq=231 "Housekeeper Objects to Telephone Advertising"], ''Telephony'', February 20, 1909, page 227.</ref> However, some companies have capitalized on these negative emotions. Since 2007 several forums have sprouted and act as complaint boards where consumers can voice their concerns and criticism. In response, some telemarketing companies have filed lawsuits against these portals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2010/10/gds-publishing-provides-a-timely-reminder-of-why-we-needed-the-libel-tourism-law.html|title=GDS Publishing Provides a Timely Reminder of Why We Needed the Libel Tourism Law (CL&P Blog)|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2008/lawyer-attempts-end-run-around-cda-230-finds-stronger-defense-he-expected|title=Lawyer Attempts End Run Around CDA 230, Finds a Stronger Defense Than He Expected|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080708/0038361619.shtml|title=Once Again: Do Not Send Legal Threats To Companies Because You Don't Like What A User Says|work=Techdirt.|date=9 July 2008 |access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref> The current legal system in the U.S grants such forums a certain degree of protection through "[[Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act|Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C 230]]" and California's Anti-[[Strategic lawsuit against public participation|SLAPP]] law.

===Robotic telemarketing and ringless voicemail===
A recent trend in telemarketing is to use [[robocall]]s: automated telephone calls that use both computerized [[autodialer]]s and computer-delivered pre-recorded messages in a [[Sales Pitch|sales pitch]]. Some can simulate a personalized phone call through personalized pre-recorded messages.

Telemarketing has recently been advanced to implement a programmed women's voice as the operator instead of hiring a real woman to perform the task (see example of Samantha West<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/10/meet-the-robot-telemarketer-who-denies-shes-a-robot/|title=Samantha West The Telemarketer Robot Who Swears She's Not a Robot - TIME.com|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=14 June 2015|date=10 December 2013}}</ref>).
This attempt is unsuccessful. However, some scholars argue that such technological advancements reinforce commoditization of a woman's speech as a marketable entity and lead to "gendered hierarchy of communication".<ref name="rakow">{{cite encyclopedia
      |title=Women and the telephone: the gendering of a communications technology
      |last=Rakow  |first=Lana F.  |author-link=Lana Rakow
      |encyclopedia=Technology and Women's Voices: Keeping in Touch|doi=10.4324/9780203221938
      |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-vqQAgAAQBAJ&q=rakow+%22women+and+the+telephone+the+gendering+of+a+communications+technology%22&pg=PA179
      |isbn=9781135795016 |editor-last=Kramarae   |editor-first=Cheris  |year=1988}}</ref>{{rp|186}}

Other tactics, such as [[ringless voicemail]], can directly deliver a voice message directly to a landline's or cellphone's voicemail.<ref name=RingLess.NYT17>{{cite news  |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
   |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/business/phone-ringless-voicemail-fcc-telemarketer.html
   |title=No, Your Phone Didn't Ring. So Why Voice Mail From a Telemarketer?
   |author=Tara Siegel Bernard |date=3 June 2017  |access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
      |title=VoiceLogic  |url=https://voicelogic.com/voicecasting
      |website=VoiceLogic  |access-date=30 November 2017}}</ref> Its original purpose was to provide a nonintrusive method of delivering valuable messages. There has been debate on ringless voicemail causing issues relating to "hijacking" of the voicemail by companies, which would disallow family and friends to access the voicemail.<ref name=RingLess.NYT17/>