A bill that would grant fax marketers relief from a stringent opt-in rule cleared a key legislative hurdle yesterday with its unanimous passage in the House of Representatives.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Fred Upton, R-MI, said he expected the Senate Commerce Committee to consider similar legislation this week. After Friday, Congress will break until Sept. 7 for the Democratic and Republican national conventions and its traditional summer break.
Upton's Junk Fax Prevention Act, H.R. 4600, would overturn a Federal Communications Commission requirement that faxers have written permission from consumers before sending marketing faxes. It would maintain the status quo — in which faxers can send solicitations to those with whom they have an existing business relationship — but would require all such solicitations to include opt-out information.
“The bill does not overturn the ban on the faxing of unsolicited advertisements,” Upton said in a statement. “That has been outlawed since the passage of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 — and this bill does nothing to change that.”
The FCC had planned to implement the written-permission requirement last summer but delayed after businesses — particularly real estate agents and publications — and nonprofit associations complained. However, the FCC only pushed back implementation of the rule until Jan. 1.
