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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  January  5,  2004  Suzanne  Tetreault  at  (202)  418-  7450 
 Suzanne.  Tetreault@  fcc.  gov 


 FCC  FINES  FAX.  COM  OVER  $5  MILLION  FOR  SENDING  “JUNK  FAXES” 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  imposed  a  forfeiture  of  $5,379,000  against  Fax.  com,  Inc.,  for  faxing  unsolicited  advertisements  to 
 consumers  in  violation  of  the  Telephone  Consumer  Protection  Act  (TCPA)  and  the  Commission’s  rules.  Fax.  com  operates  as  a  “fax  broadcaster,”  faxing  messages  on  behalf  of 
 others  for  a  fee.  This  is  the  largest  single  fine  ever  imposed  by  the  Commission  for  violation  of  the  TCPA. 


 The  Commission  found  that  Fax.  com  had  violated  the  TCPA  and  the  Commission’s  rules  on  489  separate  occasions.  The  Commission  imposed  the  maximum  permissible  forfeiture  of 
 $11,000  for  each  of  these  violations  in  light  of  the  fact  that  “Fax.  com’s  primary  business  activity  itself  constitutes  a  massive  on-  going  violation”  of  the  TCPA.  The  Commission  rejected 
 Fax.  com’s  arguments  that  the  TCPA’s  junk  fax  ban  is  unconstitutional,  and  that  the  amount  of  the  forfeiture  was  excessive. 


 In  addition  to  the  forfeiture,  the  Commission  ordered  Fax.  com  to  file  a  report  within  30  days  indicating  whether  it  has  come  into  compliance  with  the  TCPA  and  FCC  rules  prohibiting 
 junk  faxes.  The  Commission  indicated  that  this  report,  along  with  any  consumer  complaints,  will  be  used  to  determine  whether  additional  enforcement  action  should  be  taken  against 
 Fax.  com,  or  the  companies  on  behalf  of  whom  Fax.  com  sends  unsolicited  fax  advertisements. 


 Action  by  the  Commission  on  December  31,  2003,  by  Order  of  Forfeiture  (FCC  04-  2).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  Martin,  and  Adelstein. 


 –  FCC  – 
 File  No.  EB-  02-  TC-  120 
 Enforcement  Bureau  Contacts:  Suzanne  Tetreault  at  (202)  418-  7450  and  Kurt  Schroeder  at  (202)  418-  7320. 


 TTY:  1  (888)  835-  5322 
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