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No Fax for You: FCC rule would stop barrage of unsolicited transmissions, but opponents continue fight

BY BECKY MALKOVICH
THE SOUTHERN

Sunday, June 12, 2005 4:45 PM CDT

A rule governing unsolicited fax transmissions, or so-called junk faxes, is set to go into effect July 1, but not without a fight from opponents.

The FCC rule, adopted in August 2003, established new guidelines for the transmission of faxes and was aimed at stopping the constant barrage of unwanted faxes received by home and office fax machines. The regulation requires fax senders to first obtain from the recipient a signed, written document that includes the fax number to which any advertisements may be sent and clearly indicates the recipient's consent to receive such faxes from the sender. An established business relationship will no longer be sufficient to show that an individual or business has given prior permission to receive such unsolicited transmissions.

However, FCC commissioners are currently reviewing a petition that asks for the delay of implementation of the rule. Similar past requests for delays have been granted and that's why the rule has yet to be implemented, according to Rosemary Kimball, FCC spokeswoman.

"Commissioners are looking at a new petition that would postpone the start of implementation again," she said.

If the commissioners chose to go ahead with the July 1 start date, the rule would apply to any fax soliciting business from the recipient. "These faxes are similar to telemarketing calls, only they come via fax," Kimball said. "We've had numerous complaints from people who are just being bombarded by unwanted faxes in their homes or offices, and they do incur some expense for the recipients. It's your toner and your paper being used."

George R. Trammell, president and CEO of the Marion Chamber of Commerce, said he thinks the new rule would be useful in some instances, but not all. Trammell said many local businesses, including restaurants, send out daily faxes touting special services or menus.

"We get faxes all day long from companies trying to sell medicine, vacation trips and such, but we also get faxes that are locally generated that we do want to get," he said. "The local ones are the ones I can use and would want to receive."

However, he said, the added paperwork would be hard on local businesses. "It would just add another burden for small businesses if they have to draw up a legally binding document to get the okay from people who already want their faxes," he said.

Kimball said a decision is expected within the next few weeks from commissioners reviewing the petition to delay implementation.

beckym@onecliq.net

618-927-5633