FCC delays rules against 'junk' faxes to 2005

WASHINGTON -- Businesses and nonprofit groups opposed to an FCC rule requiring written permission before sending unsolicited faxes say they will use a 16-month delay announced Tuesday to urge Congress to block the requirement.

The new Federal Communications Commission rule, announced in July, was to have been in place next Monday. In the past month, the FCC received 12 petitions asking the commission to delay the new fax rules.

The agency announced Tuesday that it had unanimously approved a 16-month delay, although a spokeswoman suggested this was unrelated to the petitions.

"We wanted to give the companies as much time as they needed to commit to compliance with the rules," FCC spokeswoman Rosemary Kimball said. "We felt that was very generous. No matter what a company's fiscal year is, no matter what their schedule is, they are all accommodated."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which submitted a petition, said it would push Congress to act. Stephen Bokat, the chamber's senior vice president and general counsel, said its members have sent more than 3,000 messages to Capitol Hill and the organization is assembling a coalition to lobby lawmakers. The American Society of Association Executives, which represents nonprofit groups, also plans to pressure Congress, said Jim Clark, a senior vice president.

Under the old regulations, written permission for unsolicited faxes is not required if the targeted individuals and companies already do business with the organization sending the fax. There is a requirement for written permission from targets not engaged in business with the sender of the fax.

The new FCC rules would require organizations to get written approval from all parties. The Chamber of Commerce said this would burden businesses with unnecessary paperwork and prevent organizations from communicating with their members.

"This rule impacts everyone, not just business," said Bokat. "If the Boy Scouts want to invite their members to come to a dinner and there's a charge, it's covered by this rule. If the local church wants to fax something to its congregants saying there's a pancake supper and it's $5, it's covered by this rule."

The National Association of Realtors, another petitioner, said the new regulations could have disrupted real estate sales.

"The ability to move promptly and communicate via fax is instrumental to the success of these transactions in highly competitive housing market," said Cathy Whatley, a Florida Realtor who is president of the trade group.

The FCC announcement also said the 16-month delay will offer more time to respond to requests to reconsider the new rules.

"They have 16 months to come in with a better idea," Kimball said. "What we absolutely are firm about is we don't want consumers paying for unsolicited advertising. This is the best way we could think of to reach that conclusion. If someone has a better idea, we're willing to look at it."

The fax rules were approved at the same time as the do-not-call list, which allows Americans to sign a registry to block unsolicited telephone sales pitches. More than 30 million Americans have signed up.

--------

On the Net:

Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov

U.S. Chamber of Commerce: http://www.uschamber.org