Man wants no-call list for politics

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The founder of a Washington group advocating "civil discourse" thinks U.S. voters should be able to put themselves on a political "do not call" list.

Shaun Dakin, founder of Citizens for Civil Discourse, said he thinks the calls should be regulated, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

"We don't want an outright ban, but citizens have a right to privacy," Dakin said. "If someone wants to opt out, he should be allowed to do it."

Political calls were specifically exempted when the Federal Trade Commission set up a national Do Not Call list five years ago. Some states allow residents to opt out.

One of the more recent techniques is robocalls, using recordings of candidates or their better-known backers, including other politicians and movie stars.

"The calls are really an inexpensive way for an underdog candidate to let his message out to voters," Joshua Halpin, a spokesman for the American Association of Political Consultants, told the Chronicle. "This is a misguided attack on free speech which could lead us down a slippery slope to bans on direct mail, television ads and other types of political communication."