The US Federal Communications Commission announced on Monday
that it was imposing a record fine of $5,379,000 on Fax.com, a
company that had faxed unsolicited advertisements to consumers in
breach of US law.
In what the FCC called a "massive on-going violation" of the
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fax.com had operated as a
"fax broadcaster," faxing messages on behalf of others for a
fee.
Junk faxes can be a more expensive nuisance than spam e-mail,
given that fax recipients pay for ink and paper with each
message.
In total, the FCC found that Fax.com had violated the TCPA on
489 separate occasions and imposed the maximum fine of $11,000 for
each breach. It rejected the company's arguments that the fax ban
was unconstitutional and that the proposed fine, the largest ever
imposed by the FCC for violation of the TCPA, was excessive.
The FCC has also ordered Fax.com to file a report within 30 days
indicating whether it has come into compliance with the TCPA and
FCC rules prohibiting junk faxes.
The FCC indicated that this report, along with any consumer
complaints, would be used to determine whether additional
enforcement action should be taken against Fax.com, or the
companies on behalf of whom Fax.com sends unsolicited fax
advertisements.
