Information Technology
Raymond Hintz
BIS/220
January 21, 2014
Oswald Angst

Information Technology
The phone rings, your in the middle of a project. Your monthly plan is almost out of minutes, you do not recognize the number but you are expecting an important call. You answer the call only to hear a recorded message asking, “If I could teach you how to make $1000.00 dollars a week would you be interested?” great another telemarketing call. Wasted time, wasted minutes on your phone plan and aggravation at the interruption of your day. There should be a law about this! Wait, there is.
Advances in information technology have led to a huge increase in telemarketing calls to consumers. Calls come in from every avenue, marketing questions; solicitation for sales, investment opportunities, and political outreach, if you can talk about it a telemarketer is calling consumers to get their opinion, their vote or their money. Call centers have expanded from office buildings with employees making one call at a time calls to computers mass dialing consumers. Robo-calling has decreased the cost to telemarketers while increasing the volume of calls consumers receive. The per minute fees incurred by consumers for telemarketing calls to cellular phones led to many complaints and an increase in the need for a “Do Not Call” law. Consumers had for many years been irritated at telemarketers however the increase in volume of calls along with the new charges paid by consumers for calls to cellular phones increased the need for legislation offering consumers a choice in whether or not to receive telemarketing calls.
The Federal Communications Commission in response to consumer complaints enacted the National Do-Not-Call-Registry in 2004. Under the authority of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act the Federal Communication Commission working with the Federal Trade Commission created the registry to provide a way for consumers to remove themselves from the call lists of telemarketers. Any consumer can now register their phone number with the registry and any company in compliance with the act will check the registry every 31 days and remove registered numbers from their call list (Federal Communications Commission, n.d.). Only companies who choose to follow the law are using the registry to update their call lists. New information technology offers choices; those choices can cause benefit or harm. Businesses, organizations, government, and people can all benefit from the advances made in the last 20 years with global Internet advances. With the increase in computer knowledge of everyday consumers the Internet offers everyone the opportunity to connect with others on every topic you can think of. Sadly technology advances can put at risk the most vulnerable of us, our children. In its infancy the Internet was never considered a place children as young as two or three would go to play games, learn, and socialize. Things like Skype, sexting, and live chat groups were not even a concept. The rapid growth of computer and Internet use has led to homes where children use the Internet the way many of us used our bikes growing up. Almost all children in the United States have a basic understanding of the Internet and the adage if you need computer help ask a 12 year old is true in many homes. We are careful whom we invite to play groups and whose house our children are allowed to go to yet the Internet allows our children to socialize with complete strangers. Access to obscene or harmful content is readily available to all use the Internet. Schools and libraries offer computers and Internet access to students to assist in learning and researching. The Children’s Internet Protection Act was passed in 2000 with ongoing updates occurring as information technology requires it. Schools and Libraries are given discounted telecommunications Internet access under the E-rate program that now requires compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act as a condition of using the program.
Compliance includes filters to prevent access to harmful or obscene content or inappropriate material. Educating children about safety and security when using email, chat rooms and other direct electronic communications. Hacking and other unlawful activities are also addressed. Schools and Libraries must also monitor minors as well as protect their information and teach then how to secure their own information. Any information about minors is also protected and may not be used for any purpose or disseminated by the school or library ("Arizona Department Of Education", 2013). Information technology will continue to grow and change, the Children’s Internet Protection Act will need constant review and updating to keep our children safe from both their own exploration and the harmful intent of others who use the Internet.

References
Arizona department of education. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.azed.gov/educational- technology/e-rate/childrens-internet-protection-act-cipa/
Federal Communications Commission. (n.d.). FCC Encyclopedia . Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/do-not-call-list