Junk Fax is now legal -- thank your Hill Critter

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: David Lesher <wb8foz () NRK COM>
Date: June 30, 2005 12:27:55 AM EDT
To: CYBERTELECOM-L () LISTSERV AOL COM
Subject: Junk Fax is now legal -- thank your Hill Critter
Reply-To: Telecom Regulation & the Internet <CYBERTELECOM- 
L () LISTSERV AOL COM>


Our GOOD friends at DMA now have the finest fax bill money can buy...

Note these lines:

        · Faxers would have to obtain fax numbers either directly
        from the recipient or from public sources, such as
        a Internet sites.
&
        Numbers from other sources would be banned. Numbers
        already in the possession of faxers would be grandfathered.

In short, better unplug your fax machine..or call-fwd your number
to the Hill. Let them buy paper..

http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=33223

Congress Passes Fax Bill to Create EBR Exemption
June 29, 2005

By: Scott Hovanyetz
Senior Reporter
scotth () dmnews com

Congress passed a bill that would permanently allow an existing
business relationship exemption for commercial faxes, a victory for
business media and nonprofit organizations that say they need to fax
subscribers and members.

The House of Representative's approval of the bill by voice vote
yesterday followed the Senate's passage by unanimous consent June
24. It now remains for President Bush to sign the bill into law.
According to American Business Media, a trade press association,
Bush is expected to sign the bill this week.

"This is positive action for business media companies," Gordon T.
Hughes II, ABM president/CEO, said in a statement. "A cornerstone of
this law, the established business relationship, is an important
factor in today's business-to-business communication."

The issue is less urgent now that the Federal Communications
Commission has granted a reprieve to commercial faxers from the
implementation of a rule that would require them to get written
permission before sending faxes, regardless of their relationship
with the recipient. The FCC had planned to enact the rule starting
July 1, but on Monday the agency pushed the effective date back to
Jan. 9, 2006.

During the 1990s, the FCC considered an existing business
relationship to be sufficient for sending commercial faxes. However,
over the years some state courts ruled that the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act did not provide an exemption for faxing to EBRs,
contradicting the FCC's assessment.

In 2003, the FCC issued a ruling revising its prior rules, stating
that an EBR was insufficient and that written permission would
henceforth be required. Lobbying by companies that fax to EBRs
followed. As a result, the FCC pushed back the enactment of its
revision on two other occasions.

"Both the refusal of state courts to honor that FCC regulation and
the FCC's proposal to do away with it created the need for the new
fax law," ABM said in a statement.

Under the bill sponsored by Sen. Gordon Smith, R-OR, the EBR
exemption would be written into law. It also would require opt-out
notices on the first page of faxes providing a toll-free, 24-hour
contact number that can be used by those who wish to be removed from
fax lists. Other provisions include:

· No time limit for EBRs unlike the national no-call list, which
limits EBRs to those who made a purchase in the past 18 months or an
inquiry in the past three months. After a three-month trial period
following enactment of the bill, the FCC could begin proceedings to
create such a time limit.

·The FCC also would have the option to exempt nonprofit groups from
the opt-out notice requirement.

· Faxers would have to obtain fax numbers either directly from the
recipient or from public sources, such as ads, directories and
Internet sites. Numbers from other sources would be banned. Numbers
already in the possession of faxers would be grandfathered. However,
in cases where a faxer has an EBR with a potential recipient but no
fax number, the faxer must obtain the number as if the recipient
were a new contact.

· The FCC would be required to issue an annual report regarding its
enforcement efforts against junk faxes. The General Accountability
Office would have to issue a report on the FCC's enforcement efforts
270 days following enactment of the bill.

Scott Hovanyetz covers telemarketing, production and printing and
direct response TV marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up
with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily
and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters


_______________________________________________


--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz () nrk com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433



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