Fax Broadcasting - Legal Bindings

The Original Act
In the year 1991, Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or TCPA to keep a check on the increasing number of telephone marketing calls, which can easily be termed as unsolicited. The act restricts the making of promotional calls and the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and pre-recorded voice messages.

The Act defines an “unsolicited advertisement” as “any material publicizing the business availability or quality of any property, goods, or services which is transmitted to any person without that individual’s prior express request or permission, in writing or otherwise.”

Extending The Act To Cover Fax Broadcasting
Later, this Act was extended to fax advertising. It was decided to restrict the use of the fax machines to distribute unsolicited advertisements. Specifically, it forbids the use of “any device to send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone fax machine.” The act is applicable to only those messages that constitute “unsolicited advertisements.” The legal prohibition applies to such announcements sent both to residential and business fax numbers.

Exemption under Established Business Relationship
In 2005, the above Act was amended by the Junk Fax Prevention Act. The new Act now permits the sending of unsolicited fax advertisements to individuals and businesses with which the sender has an established business relationship (EBR).

An EBR implies formation of a prior or existing relationship between a person or entity and a business or residential subscriber, by a voluntary two-way communication. This relationship can be made with or without an exchange of payment, and allows a person or entity to promote its products and services to a business or residential subscriber on the basis of an enquiry, request, purchase or deal.

EBR is supposed to be seized as soon as either party decides to terminate it. Specifically, a fax advertisement may be sent to an EBR client if the correspondent also: