The bill exempts both telephone companies that publish telephone directories or cause them to be published and anyone publishing telephone directories under an agreement with a telephone company. The act also allows individuals to bring suit. The Direct Marketing Association is a trade association of businesses that use direct mail and telemarketing to sell goods and services. It operates the Telephone Preference Service. A consumer who does not wish to receive telemarketing calls can send his name, address, and telephone number to the service, which maintains a list of all such consumers.
Businesses can use the list to purge their own lists of consumers to be called.