Office of Advocacy Supports Junk Fax Prevention Bills

If you use a fax machine to send customers flyers, price lists, or conference notices the result of the debate over "junk faxes" could severely affect the way you conduct business.

by Jim Henderson, Region VIII Small Business Advocate

Office of Advocacy concern over the fax-advertising ban started when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules in 2003 that attempted to slow the flood of junk faxes in much the same manner as the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rules on telemarketing calls. However, the revised rules removed the "established business relationship" exemption to the prohibition on commercial faxes.

Soon the small business community realized that an unintended consequence of FCC’s rule would be to shut down a critical communications link. Small business owners let us know that the impact of the rule would be pervasive. After all, fax communications are central to the established business relationship in many industries, including those between wholesalers and retailers; distributors and wholesalers; manufacturers and distributors; realtors and prospective clients; and between lenders and borrowers.

Advocacy and small business organizations brought these concerns to the FCC, which then extended its compliance deadline to January 1, 2005. Small business supporters in Congress realized that this stay did not fix the underlying problem of the elimination of the established business relationship exemption to the do-not-fax rules. They soon introduced bills that would restore the established business relationship exemption.

The Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004 (S. 2603) introduced by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) in the Senate aims to restore the exemption as does the similar Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004 (H.R. 4600) introduced by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) in the House of Representatives.

In letters to Congress, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan explained his position on various aspects of the bills. He noted that S. 2603 would fix problems that often occur when one-size-fits-all regulations are applied to small business. In addition, he praised H.R. 4600 for providing a balanced resolution between small firms that rely on fax communications in their day-to-day operations, and consumers and small businesses alike who do not wish to receive unsolicited faxes.

Chief Counsel Sullivan’s support of these bills illustrates how the Office of Advocacy represents the views of small business before Federal agencies and Congress.

Advocacy’s current and previous letters on the issue, as well as a fact sheet on the do-not-fax rule’s harmful impact on small businesses are posted on our web site at http://www.sba.gov/advo.

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Jim Henderson

Regional Advocate, Region VIII – Office of Advocacy

U.S. Small Business Administration

721 19th Street, Suite 400

Denver, CO 80201

(303) 844-0503 Phone

(303) 844-0506 Fax

[email protected]

http://www.sba.gov/advo