Moser

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) appeals the district court’s ruling on summary judgment that a provision of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 47 U.S.C. § 227 , banning prerecorded telemarketing calls violates the First Amendment. The FCC argues as a threshold matter that the district court lacked jurisdiction and, on the merits, that the district court erred in finding that the statute did not constitute a “reasonable fit” with the govern- *972 merit’s legitimate interest in protecting residential privacy. We hold that the district court had jurisdiction. We reverse on the merits.

I

Congress held extensive hearings on telemarketing in 1991. Based upon these hearings, it concluded that telemarketing calls to homes constituted an unwarranted intrusion upon privacy. The volume of such calls increased substantially with the advent of automated devices that dial up to 1,000 phone numbers an hour and play prerecorded sales pitches. S.Rep. No. 102-178, 102d Cong., 1st Sess. (1991), reprinted in 1991 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1968, 1970. By the fall of 1991, more than 180,000 solicitors were using automated machines to telephone 7 million people each day. Id.

In addition…