NEW YORK - Todd Bank, a New York attorney, filed a class action lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on January 15, 2004, on behalf of all individuals and entities with unlisted or unpublished telephone numbers. The suit names the three major television networks, CNN, and Fox News Network as representative defendants of all individuals and entities that engage in random or sequential dialing, such as when conducting polls or making telemarketing calls.

        As a result of dialing numbers randomly or in sequence, the defendants intentionally call numbers that are unpublished. In describing its poll-taking technique, for example, CBS News states that its polls use computerized "random-digit dialing." See link here (last checked Feb. 25, 2004).

        CBS News then poses the question "Do People With Unlisted Telephone Numbers Get Called Too?" and answers by saying "Yes, and so do people who have moved recently but whose numbers are not in the telephone book." Therefore, CBS News explains that "only . . . the few people in the United States who do not have telephones and those people make up a small portion of the public" are safe from what Mr. Bank believes is an invasion of their privacy and property by CBS News.

        FOX News likewise explains that its "random digit dialing (RDD) method assured that people with new or unlisted numbers were just as likely to be called as those with listed phone numbers." See link here (last checked Feb. 25, 2004).

        The lawsuit is based on the theory that a telephone is personal property, and that in order for a person to access another person’s telephone, the caller must have at least the implied consent of the recipient, which does not exist in the case of unlisted and unpublished telephone numbers.

        Private Citizen, Inc., a national organization dedicated to protecting residents from all types of unwanted solicitations (sales / survey / charitable / political), believes that random or sequential dialing makes it virtually impossible for telephones owners to exercise their property and privacy rights. A copy of the complaint can be viewed at privatecitizen.com/complaint.pdf

Private Citizen is not involved nor is in anyway affiliated with the lawsuit filed by Mr. Bank.