18 U.S.C. § 2325 — Definition

In this chapter, “telemarketing or email marketing” (1) means a plan, program, promotion, or campaign conducted to induce (A) buying goods or services; (B) joining a contest or sweepstakes; (C) making a charitable contribution, donation, or gift of money or anything else valuable; (D) investing for financial profit; (E) joining a business opportunity; (F) committing to a loan; or (G) joining a fraudulent medical, research, or pilot study. The plan or campaign must use one or more interstate telephone calls, emails, text messages, or electronic instant messages started either by the person conducting it or by a prospective buyer, contest or sweepstakes participant, charitable contributor or donor, or investor.

(2) The term does not include soliciting through a posted, published, or mailed catalog or brochure that (A) describes or illustrates the goods, services, or other opportunities; (B) gives the solicitor’s business address; (C) has multiple pages of written material or illustrations; and (D) is issued at least once a year, if the solicitor does not solicit customers by telephone, email, text message, or electronic instant message, receives only interstate calls or messages started by customers responding to the written material in paper or digital form, and does not make further solicitation in response.