Junk Fax Protection Act

There may be some finality to the formerly unsettled picture on federal regulation of junk fax transmissions.  Since the first federal legislation on the subject in 1991, there has been an “es­tablished business relationship” excep­tion allowing the sending of commercial     advertising by fax under certain conditions.  In 2003, the Federal Communi­cations Commission issued a regulation that would have effectively removed the exception, requiring express written permission from the recipient for sending any commercial ads by fax.  Opposition from business groups prompted the FCC to put off enforcement of that rule three times.

Before the restrictive FCC regulation ever became effective, new legisla­tion has reinstated the established business relationship exemption.  It is still illegal to send unsolicited fax advertisements to anyone who has requested that they not he sent.   However, unsolicited faxes can be sent if the sender has an established business relationship with the recipient and the fax itself has  a conspicuous notice on its first page informing the recipient that it can request not to he sent more such faxes. To combat the sale of fax lists to mass marketers, the law requires businesses to obtain fax numbers either directly from the recipient or from a published source, such as a directory, an advertisement, or a website.