Legal Question in Technology Law in California
Broadcast Fax, sending unsolicited faxes
WE would like to be able to send out weekly newsletters via fax to potential clinets, but have heard taht there are stiff penalties for unsolicited faxs. We have also heard taht if you include a 800 phone number to ask off such a list then it's OK. What are the exact boundries and how can we use faxes without getting hit? Is the key that the fax does not in fact sell anything? Please help us with the exact reference to the law and what we need to do to stay within it.
Thanks.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Unsolicited Faxes
47 U.S.C. section 227 prohibits the transmission of unsolicited advertising via fax machine. The best way to avoid violation of this law is to get the authorization of your targets prior to sending the newsletter. If people ask you to send them newsletters via fax, then it is not unsolicited.
Including a toll free number to request removal from the list will not avoid the imposition of penalties ($500 damages per fax or actual monetary loss, whichever is higher), because once the fax is sent there is a violation of the statute, regardless of whether somebody does something later.
The policy behind the statute was to curb the needless use of paper, generally paid for by the recipient.
Whether the fax is an advertisement is also relevant, but if your company name is on the newsletter, then courts may construe that as advertising.
Bottom line: send faxes only to those people that give you their fax numbers voluntarily.
This message does not constitute legal advice and does not create any attorney/client privilege.
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