State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, announced plans Thursday to take steps to ban ""robocalls,"" an automated technique used extensively in the 2006 midterm elections.
Robocalling entails the recording of a message by a political party or special interest group, followed by en masse distribution of the message to a list of phone numbers.
Locally, the technique was employed by Fair Wisconsin, among other groups.
""Robocalls are excessively intrusive on personal privacy, whether used for political or commercial purposes,"" Black said in a statement.""While I believe we must protect the right of candidates to get their message out, the volume of these calls has become excessive. They are overly intrusive on the privacy of our citizens, often to the point of harassment.""
Black's legislation will be introduced in January.
