Controlling unwanted communications to the home

A greater volume of communications into the home increases concerns about offensive messages and unwanted solicitations. The author presents legal, regulatory and technical approaches to giving individuals more control over the communications they receive through the mails, over the telephone network, via broadcast television, and from cable TV. Technical means for allowing greater subscriber control are available, but they generally receive low priority in system design. Although receivers' rights to avoid unwanted communications may conflict with senders' rights to free speech, the author favours placing more choice and responsibility on the recipient.