Jason Miller posted his paper, “Regulating Robocalls: Are Automated Calls the Sound of, or a Threat to, Democracy?” on SSRN and it’s available for download here. The paper is an excellent overview and analysis of the issues. Of special interest to me was the discussion of the confusing patchwork of state regulation of automated calls. And on the important question of whether such calls should be banned or limited, the paper concludes that
[s]ilencing or limiting speech invariably protects the incumbent power structure. Rather than being concerned about the disturbing noise of the ringing phone, we should be alarmed at the potential for silence.