The Unpleasant Facts About Junk Fax : Why should a facsimile machine owner pay for unsolicited ads?

A judge in Orange County has awarded a tool and dye company 22 cents for cost of paper and, more important, for the aggravation of being bombarded with unsolicited ads that came via the facsimile machine. Was the award worth the headache of going to court? Surely it was for plaintiff James H. Morrissey; when he decided to make his point, he asked for only $7.87 in damages.

For recipients of unwanted junk fax correspondence, Morrissey’s time and effort invested in litigation may prove well worthwhile for establishment of a principle--the right not to be forced to pay for someone else’s advertising.

A fundamental problem with fax advertising, as opposed to other forms of unwanted communication, is that it has the capacity to drive the recipient to ever newer heights of inconvenience. A fax ad can tie up the machine so that other business cannot be conducted. That’s a nuisance for many businesses and private fax owners, and it’s a menace for hospitals or police agencies that help ensure public safety. The fax owner, by paying for the machine, the line, the paper and even staff time, is in effect subsidizing the receipt of advertising that has not been sought.

A number of states, among them Florida, Illinois and New York, already have passed legislation regulating junk fax advertising.

Not all legislation, however, is sufficient to the task. An example is a relatively toothless bill now before a U.S. Senate committee that would merely require fax advertisers to identify themselves, a provision easily dodged by advertisers that choose to hide behind post office boxes.

New York state has a law that went into effect early last year that seems to have anticipated many of the end runs that fax advertisers might conceive. It prohibits unsolicited fax advertising except from parties who have a past business relationship with the recipient. It addresses the thorny question of the right of free speech and spares fax owners from having to turn their machines off by permitting ads, not to exceed five pages, to be sent at night. Even then, a recipient need only notify the sender that the faxes are unwanted to halt the off-hours communications.

California does not yet have such a law, but there are good-enough models to draw from.

When a business is annoyed to the point of going to court to recover 22 cents, there’s reason enough to look for some sensible regulation.