C ISSUES STAY UNTIL JAN 1 2005! Sign the petition at www.legalfax.com
FCC ISSUES STAY UNTIL JAN 1 2005! The FCC has issued a stay on enforcement of their new fax rules eliminating the Established Business Relationship.
They are reconsidering the new rules until January 1, 2005 and they "retain the discretion to extend the effective date further should circumstances warrant such an action." This is a definite victory for small business and non-profits in America. While the fight is not over, the voice of reason seems to be prevailing for now in Washington.
THIS IS NOT OVER YET! Parties affected by these new rules need to be very vocal in the coming months as the FCC reconsiders their implementation. To quote Jim Clarke of the ASAE, "the grassroots effort will need to maintain its momentum if the law is to be permanently changed." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also vowed to "continue to lobby the FCC and Capitol Hill on the issue". We will keep up the effort to inform everyone on what is happening and continue to accept petition signatures as the FCC and Congress still have to deal with this issue. Thanks to everyone who signed the petition and don't forget to keep spreading the word about LegalFax.org. UPDATE (8/19): The mainstream media continues to distort this issue by releasing headlines such as "FCC Delays Junk Fax Rules...". The Associated Press released a very misleading article which has been picked up by many news outlets. Public opinion is being shaped by these types of articles that frame this whole issue as being over "Junk Fax". They are not clear in their description of what the current law and proposed changes really mean. To the average reader, this seems to all be about the type of unsolicited "Junk Fax" that has been illegal since the 1992 ruling. They further confuse the issue by referring to obtaining written permission under the current law. What they do not explain is how "Junk Faxes" from entities that you do not do business with are already illegal under the current law. There is no discussion on how this new rule will affect normal business communications.
sample letter< Senator Name >
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
< Senator Address >
United States Senate
Washington D.C., Washington DC 20510
Dear Senator,
This is a request to review and reverse the pending regulatory actions taken by the FCC in regards
to FCC 03-153 Sec XIII - The Established Business Relationship (EBR).
According to the TCPA, an "unsolicited advertisement" is defined as "any material advertising
the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or servic es which is transmitted to
any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission". This is a very broad
definition and coupled with the new, very restrictive requirement of written permission, will open
a huge door for unscrupulous lawyers to sue businesses for everyday business activities.
For example, imagine a deli owner who receives a phone-in request to fax a copy of his menu.
Under the new FCC rules, he could be sued for violating the TCPA for faxing a menu unless a
signed permission letter is on file for the fax number he is sending to. This scenario could be
applied to any number of businesses such as service industries, manufacturing and more. This
places an unfair burden on businesses that have an existing business relationship with their fax
recipients and are totally unrelated to "Junk Fax" type operations. While we are sure that the new
regulations were well-intentioned, they will do nothing to stop the problem of "Junk Fax" as the
prior interpretation of the TCPA already made these type of faxes illegal and will only burden
legitimate businesses.
Please act
...before these changes become law.
...before more voters lose their jobs.
...before more tax revenues are lost.
...before legitimate businesses that are already struggling in this dismal economy are closed or
sued out of existence.
Sincerely,
< Petitioner Name >
< Petitioner City/State >
LegalFax.org Concerned Voter
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