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"Junk Fax-Blaster" Fined $5.4 Million

January 5, 2004
The Federal Communications Commission has fined Fax.com Inc. a record-breaking $5.4 million for faxing unsolicited advertisements to consumers. The California company is a "fax broadcaster," sending others' messages for a fee.

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It's the largest single fine ever imposed by the Commission for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

"Consumers hate to go to their fax machine only to find their resources have been wasted on spam and junk," said FCc Chairman Michael K. Powell. "We're sending relief in the form of a simple message to junk faxers: violate our rules, and you will pay the consequences."

"We will not rest until consumers find peace from unwanted and unlawful intrusions – whether from telemarketing calls or junk faxes," Powell said.

The Commission found that Fax.com had violated the TCPA and the Commission's rules on 489 separate occasions. The Commission imposed the maximum permissible forfeiture of $11,000 for each of these violations in light of the fact that "Fax.com's primary business activity itself constitutes a massive on-going violation" of the TCPA.

The Commission rejected Fax.com's arguments that the TCPA's junk fax ban is unconstitutional, and that the amount of the forfeiture was excessive.

Fax.com sends one- or two-page advertisements from a variety of clients -- including travel companies, penny stocks and sellers of ink-jet-printer cartridges for fax machines -- to thousands of fax machines around the country. It recently lost a $2.2 million decision to the Washington-based law firm Covington & Burling, which claimed it had received more than 1,500 faxes in a three-hour period.

The company has not yet paid Covington & Burling. It told the court that it was unable to post a bond to cover the $2.2 million judgment.

On its Web site, Fax.com claims to have a database of more than 16 million fax numbers. It claims it provides a toll-free number to call for those who prefer not to receive its faxes.

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