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So-Called 'Junk Fax Prevention Act" Should Be TKO'd

by Keith W. Kimmel

Libertarian Writers' Bureau

In Indiana, there are tens of thousands of fax machines. They can be found in the offices of nearly every doctor, pharmacist or financial institution and countless other small businesses and even some homes. They provide a convenient, low cost way to send documents from one location to another almost instantly, making them a popular method of communication.

Unfortunately, the very factors that have made fax machines a staple in countless offices of businesses large and small have also made them a target for unscrupulous businesses that wish to peddle their wares at the expense of others.

If you own a fax, chances are you've received at least one 'junk fax", advertising anything from office supplies to travel, from insurance to mortgages. And if your situation is typical, you probably receive several each night. Advertisements printed on your paper, using your toner or ink. If asked, nearly all fax machine owners will tell you that they bought their fax machines to receive business communications like purchase orders and invoices and other documents, not advertisements.

Because of complaints by fax owners, the act of sending junk faxes was made unlawful by Congress through The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, also called the TCPA. The Federal Communications Commission was charged with enforcing the TCPA, recipients of advertisements could sue the senders of violating faxes for $500. per fax and the courts had the discretion to triple the damages if it found that the sender willfully or knowingly sent fax ads. The potential for costly lawsuits and fines kept most (but not all) businesses from violating the provisions of the TCPA.

Apparently, the United States Senate believes professional boxing and fax machines are closely related, having just passed Senate Bill 2603, The Professional Boxing Safety Act, nearly a third of which discusses regulations concerning fax machines and not boxing.  But how could professional boxing and fax machines be related you might ask? That's a really good question, one that the citizens should be asking of their legislators.

S.2603 was previously called Junk Fax Prevention Act (JFPA), before it was renamed to The Professional Boxing Safety Act and several other bills were absorbed into it. The so-called Junk Fax Prevention Act would have been more appropriately named The Junk Fax Encouragement Act, since it repeals many of the key protections afforded to consumers under the TCPA.

Under the TCPA, the only lawful way for most businesses to advertise by fax was to obtain the explicit permission of the intended recipient prior to sending any ads. Under the new JFPA, not only are fax advertisers not required to obtain the fax machine owner's consent; they are allowed to send faxes until the fax owner contacts them and tells them to stop. Additionally, publicly displaying a fax number anywhere, such as on a website or on business cards or even in the telephone directory, constitutes consent and invitation to receive such faxes under the JFPA.

If the Junk Fax Prevention Act is allowed to become law, fax owners can look forward to a substantial increase in advertisements received by fax. Those who desire to take themselves off the list will be forced to consume time and resources contacting each faxer and asking them to cease sending faxes to them and that's assuming that you can get in touch with the faxer to begin with.

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