[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 16, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7709-7710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3864]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 16, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 7709]]

                Proclamation 7272 of February 11, 2000

                
National Consumer Protection Week, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Americans have long enjoyed shopping from the comfort 
                of their homes. Door-to-door sales and mail-order 
                catalogs have given consumers the opportunity to choose 
                from a wide variety of products while saving precious 
                time for family and personal interests. As we move into 
                the digital age, the Internet and other information 
                technologies have made electronic commerce possible, 
                and on-line shopping is opening doors for consumers, 
                established retailers, and small entrepreneurs across 
                the Nation. With these opportunities, however, come 
                certain risks for home shoppers. Advances in 
                telecommunications and marketing technology bring new 
                opportunities for unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent 
                practices that target consumers where they live. It is 
                now easier than ever for perpetrators of fraud to reach 
                shoppers in their homes; consequently, it is more 
                important than ever that consumers know their rights, 
                understand the risks, and know to whom they can turn 
                for recourse.

                While there are risks to home shopping, including 
                unwanted solicitations, ill-advised purchases, and 
                failure to deliver items purchased, consumers can 
                protect themselves against these dangers by taking 
                basic, commonsense precautions. Home shoppers should 
                ascertain the seller's location and reputation; give 
                out personal information only if they know who is 
                collecting it, why it is being collected, and how it 
                will be used; and report problems that they cannot 
                resolve with the vendor.

                In order to protect consumers, the Federal Trade 
                Commission, the Department of Justice, the Consumer 
                Federation of America, the American Association of 
                Retired Persons, the National Association of Consumer 
                Agency Administrators, and the National Association of 
                Attorneys General have joined forces to inform 
                Americans about their rights as home shoppers, about 
                merchant responsibilities, and about how to enjoy 
                safely the benefits of shopping from home. This 
                information is available in writing, by telephone, and 
                on-line, helping to educate consumers about such issues 
                as how to stop unwanted telemarketing or mail-order 
                solicitations and when to provide private information 
                to an on-line business.

                I encourage all Americans to take advantage of this 
                opportunity to learn more about safe shopping from 
                home. By becoming wise and well-informed consumers, we 
                can reduce the incidence of fraud and deception in the 
                marketplace.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim February 14 through 
                February 20, 2000, as National Consumer Protection 
                Week. I call upon government officials, industry 
                leaders, consumer advocates, and the American people to 
                participate in programs promoting safe and reliable 
                shopping from home and to raise public awareness about 
                the dangers of deceptive and fraudulent practices 
                targeting home shoppers.

[[Page 7710]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-3864
Filed 2-15-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P