From: bobk@ESD.3Com.COM (Bob Konigsberg)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Junk FAX Mail
Date: 11 Sep 92 16:03:36 GMT


The information below is a compilation (not by me, and I promised
not to say who in exchange for permission to post it) of recent
news articles, pending legislation and other stuff related to
both Junk Fax, and unwanted solititations.

I hope that this is helpful and informative.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Los Angeles Times, April 4, 1992 Junk Fax: The Consumer Protection,
Governmental Efficiency and Economic Development Committee approved a
bill (AB 2438) by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) that would
restrict transmission of unsolicited advertising messages over fax
machines and impose a $500 fine for illegal transmissions. An 8-0
vote sent the bill to the Ways and Means Committee.  

Los Angeles Times, May 18, 1992 Junk Fa : The Ways and Means
Committee approved a bill (AB 2438) by Assemblyman Richard Katz
(D-Sylmar) to make it illegal to transmit unsolicited advertising
over a fax machine. A 16-0 vote sent the bill to the Assembly floor.
                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                   
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, May 26, 1992    
   Martha Spillman, Alpharetta  

Q: Is there any way to stop annoying telephone solicitations? 

A: Last December, President Bush signed legislation designed to
reduce unwanted telephone solicitations and "junk faxes." The
law takes effect this December. It requires the Federal
Communications Commission to create a system for listing people
who don't want certain calls, especially from automated dialing
machines that play prerecorded messages. Businesses, except for
charity groups, will be prohibited from making such calls to
people who ask to be protected. Random dialing to hospitals,
fire departments and other emergency telephone numbers will be
illegal. Faxing unrequested advertisements also will be
restricted.  Until then, you can write to:
 
Telephone Preference Service,
Direct Marketing Association, 
11 West 42nd St.,
P.O. Box 3861, 
New York, N.Y. 10163-3861. 

The association will tell its members, who supply direct-
marketing lists, not to call you. Most companies are members,
but if a non-member company calls, ask the person calling to
take your name off the company's lists.  Bottom line on the
law...we are on the verge of having state law and federal law on
our side.  However, see below for creative tort theories or
trespass and conversion.  Products that might help...  

PR Newswire, Feb. 5, 1992 Xerox recently announced a fax with
"junk fax discrimination," which allows users to program the
machine to receive transmissions only from a specified list of
fax terminals.  

Data Communication, June, 1992 TRW has announced the
Fax Encryptor 300, which also screen out "junk" faxes.  It
provides an audit trail of all faxes sent and received.  It
woulds with all Group 3 fax machines and costs $1,995.  

Sue the sender....  The Independent, June 7, 1992 A London solicitor
is suing three companies for damages for sending him "junk" faxes.
He says advertisers who send out junk faxes not only cause criminal
damage but also pass on their costs to him by using his fax paper,
ink and time.  As the solicitor explained the basis of his suits to
the defendants: "We consider that you have committted the torts both
of trespass to goods in as much as you have unlawfully damaged our
photocopying paper and you have also committed the tort of conversion
under the Torts (Interference with Goods) . . . by converting out
photocopying paper to your use for advertising by means of your
transmission." He wants the companies to stop sending him advertising
faxes and pay 5 pounds for damaging his property.  

It seems to me a company might do the following: Be creative, fight
fire with fire.  One company who received junk faxes after requesting
that they be stopped, set up their fax machine to keep sending the
same fax over and over to the sender of the junk faxes.  The fax had
two rude words on it.  When the sender of the junk faxes came to work
the next day, he found a pile of fax paper (all the paper in his
machine) with two rude words repeated over and over on it.

Program the fax not to accept faxes without "from" numbers (don't
know if technically feasible).  Have the phone numbers to the faxes
changed and make certain the numbers do not appear in a fax
directory.  Fax back to junk faxers, threatening to sue them for
conversion and trespass.  I'll let you know if and when I speak with
the phone company.

According to an unnamed spokesperson at Pacific Bell, There is 
also a TRAP device available which will indicate who is sending
the faxes.  The company (receiving problem faxes) has to agree to
prosecute in order to use it.  But, logically speaking, unless these
faxes are obscene, etc., there is no law under which to prosecute
until legislation is passed.
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban