DirecTV gets $5 million do-not-call fine

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Federal officials announced a $5.36 million settlement Tuesday with Satellite TV provider DirecTV over alleged violations of the Do Not Call rule.

It was the largest civil penalty ever imposed by the Federal Trade Commission in a consumer protection enforcement case, CNN said.

The FTC action proves that the rule "is a program consumers can continue to believe in," said FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras at a news conference. "Sellers are on the hook for calls placed on their behalf and for their benefit. It is not named the Do Not Call Registry for nothing."

Majoras said the DirecTV case accounted for 1.4 million complaints, the single biggest category of do-not-call violations the commission has ever received.

In one case, DirecTV provided a list of consumers to a telemarketing company, according to Majoras. But in many cases, she said, the provider paid a commission to the telemarketing companies for each subscription sold.