[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 7 (Monday, February 21, 2000)]
[Pages 291-292]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7272--National Consumer Protection Week, 2000

February 11, 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

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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.
    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.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., February 15, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
February 16. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.