A new federal rule designed to stem the flow of "spam faxes" could create a hardship on small businesses, area business people say.
For 2½ years, Linda Coy, manager of Thumpers Downtown Bar & Grill, has routinely faxed the restaurant's daily lunch specials to about 50 facsimile machines. The faxes help busy workers find out what's good and affordable for lunch; they also help Coy advertise her business.
Starting July 1, however, all organizations ¨C including businesses like Thumpers ¨C that solicit business by facsimile machine will have to get written permission from the recipients first.
The requirement is an update to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, which prohibits the transmission by fax of unsolicited advertisements.
The new rule modifies that law's exemption for organizations that claim "an existing business relationship" with the receiver. Until now, that exemption allowed businesses to broadcast faxes to established customers as part of an accepted pattern of communication.
The Federal Communications Commission tightened restrictions In 2003 by requiring all senders to get permission from recipients in writing first, regardless of prior affiliation.
The new rule was to take effect at the beginning of the year, but the start date was pushed back to July 1 after lobbying by business groups.
Coy thinks the new rule is excessive.
In the past, she's had regular customers to call and ask her to fax the menu. She's had other customers who've called and asked to be taken off the fax list.
Those agreements are arrived at through informal conversations, Coy said. Now, with the FCC getting involved, the whole thing may become more trouble than it's worth.
"I probably won't do it anymore," Coy said. "It's a lot of trouble ¨C to call everyone, send them a letter and send them a postage stamp."
Coy said she doesn't believe the rule is designed to affect businesses like hers. Even so, she plans to download a permission form from the FCC Web site just to be on the safe side.
"I don't want to mess with the FCC," Coy said.
Meanwhile, another law has been introduced which would supercede the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
The Junk Fax Protection Act of 2005 would retain the prior "business relationship" exemption. In place of written permission, the bill adds a requirement that faxed advertisements contain a method of halting future faxes.
According to the proposed law, conspicuous notice would have to be placed on the first page of the fax alerting the recipient of a telephone and fax number to contact if they want to stop further unsolicited advertisements. The contact number cannot be a pay-per-call number.
The bill has passed the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee but has yet to be considered by the full Senate. The Senate passed a similar measure in the last Congress, but the House failed to act on it.
If the new bill is approved, it would supercede the new FCC ruling.
A spokeswoman said Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., supports the more recent legislation.
"Last Congress, Sen. Dole supported this legislation, which passed by unanimous consent," said spokeswoman Katie Norman. "She would support this bill again this year, as long as it has the same effect of protecting people against spam faxes. She agrees that we must reduce the number of unsolicited faxes, which are both costly and wasteful."
However, spam faxes must be reduced in such a way that legitimate business dealings aren't also impeded, Norman said.
"As we work to alleviate this problem, we must ensure that customers, and the businesses they have legitimate relationships with, are not negatively affected," Norman said.
A number of anti-spam advocates have suggested the proposed new law could have the opposite effect of reducing unwanted faxes. The vague definition of "relationship," they say, leaves the gates open on unsolicited faxes, leaving vulnerable anyone who has ever asked for information or purchased from a company.
The 1991 junk fax law was passed after complaints that faxed advertisements were tying up communications systems and costing millions of dollars each year in wasted paper, ink and manpower.
A fax transmission costs the recipient seven to 10 cents in paper, ink, wear and tear on the machine and personnel time spent sorting, according to junkfax.org, a Web site devoted to ending unwanted ads.
Margene Curtice, of First Class Travel, said her business does not advertise by fax. However, she does receive a lot of unsolicited faxes. Curtice said she has noticed that many of these businesses have started faxing permission forms along with the ads, asking for her consent to continue.
"I respond to the ones I'm interested interested in," Curtice said. "Faxes are like e-mail. Once someone gets a hold of that address you start receiving a lot of things you don't really want."
If she's not interested in the ad, Curtice ignores the sender. And, after July 1, that should become an effective way of eliminating unwanted faxes. If the sender doesn't get a signature back, they are supposed to stop sending ads to that fax number.
If senders continue, complaints can be filed with the FCC online at www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html or by calling (888) 225-5322.
Under terms of the 1991 law, the penalty for each violation is 0 and can go up to ,500 if a company is shown to have knowingly violated the law.
Those who have received unsolicited faxes are encouraged to save them. In North Carolina, recipients of unsolicited faxes can sue the sender in small claims court for 0 per copy, according to Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General.
