Supreme Court rejects challenge to North Dakota robo-call law

The AP reports:

A political polling firm lost a Supreme Court challenge Tuesday to a North Dakota law that bars telemarketers from making prerecorded interstate calls to the state's residents.

The North Dakota Do-Not-Call law says callers cannot use robo-call machines unless a live operator first obtains the subscriber's consent before a prerecorded message is delivered.

The Virginia-based political polling firm, FreeEats.com, argued that the North Dakota law is preempted by the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act which allows prerecorded non-commercial calls. Justices declined to review a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the law.

FreeEats.com used a prerecorded voice to ask questions about gun rights, abortion and tuition tax credits for attending private schools. Recipients were asked to respond by pushing buttons on their touch-tone phones.

The erosion of free speech.