Junker fax.com and clients hit with multiple FCC Citations

Each advertiser was issued a citation putting them on notice that they will be subject to a monetary forfeiture of up to $11,000 per subsequent violation.

Fax.com was issued four citations - one for each of the advertisers.  In the citations, the FCC made it clear that junk fax broadcasters can and will be held accountable:

Although entities that merely transmit facsimile messages on behalf of others are not liable for compliance with the prohibition on faxing unsolicited advertisements, the exemption from liability does not exist when a fax transmitter has ``'a high degree of involvement or actual notice of an illegal use and [has] fail[ed] to take steps to prevent such transmissions.''' Accordingly, fax transmitters do not enjoy an absolute exemption from liability under the TCPA and the Commission's Rules.

This citation serves as notice that the unsolicited facsimile advertisements ... transmitted by your company violate the TCPA and the Commission's Rules. The Commission may assess to your company monetary forfeitures not to exceed $11,000 for each subsequent violation if (1) your company has been highly involved on behalf of the sender of any unsolicited facsimile advertisements, or (2) your company continues to transmit facsimile advertisements ... without taking steps to ensure that the sender has obtained permission from recipients to fax the advertisements.

© 1999-2005 Robert H. Braver, Norman, Oklahoma. Nothing in this web site should be construed as legal advice. This web site is provided for information purposes only. Opinions presented are those of Mr. Braver (or other contributors as indicated). The operators of this site will not give, sell, or otherwise transfer email addresses stored on any of our hosts to any other party for the purposes of initiating, or enabling others to initiate, electronic mail messages.