Panel Told Fax Machines Need Ban on Junk

Facsimile machines need protection from “fax attacks” by junk fax, or unsolicited advertisements, witnesses at a House hearing said today.

“With the growth of fax machine numbers has come junk fax, the electronic equivalent of junk mail,” House telecommunications and finance subcommittee chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said.

He said more than 2 million fax machines are now in American offices, with more added each day.

“The fax machine, used properly, can be a boon to business efficiency. Unfortunately, the same equipment can also be used to inundate the owners of fax machines with voluminous and unsolicited material,” John Glynn of the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel said.

Glynn said the person or business getting an ad by fax has to pay for receiving it and for the paper to print it on.

The subcommittee is considering legislation that would make it unlawful to send unsolicited ads to fax users who notify telephone companies that they do not want such ads.