Fax Chronicle

Looks like Wisconsin wants to take a bite out of some internet fax companies’ business model. J2, and other firms that allow fax blasts on their network could be impacted by this and I fully expect this to sweep across the country. The original laws were weak and my expectation is that many more legislators across the country are getting hit with concerns from constituents as well. To those businesses that say it will hurt their business, I say hogwash. If SPAM faxes, junk faxes, and telemarketing calls are the only way to sell your product, then your product and value are weak. There are a million ways to market a product and the web is one you should definitely be using.

Wisconsin State Journal

Madison insurance agent Jeff Furst faced perhaps the worst kind of telemarketing home invasions last year – predawn fax attacks.”It was a nightmare for me for a while. . . . I would hear the fax machine go off at 3 in the morning and it would turn out to be a junk fax where they wanted me to buy a mortgage,” said Furst, 59, who works out of his home. “I got on the (state) do-not-call list but I started getting a ton of these faxes anyway.”

Furst filed 37 complaints with state regulators, who could do little under the limited scope of the current law. But complaints such as his have gotten lawmakers listening.

On a 3-2 vote, a state Senate committee on Wednesday approved broad additions to the state’s no-call list that provide new protections for consumers and much larger fines for telemarketers who break the rules.

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Another change in the bill would end the late-night loophole that allows businesses to send the kinds of early morning faxes Furst found annoying. It would also allow Rabbitt’s Bureau of Consumer Protection to enforce laws on annoying faxes, which are currently handled by district attorneys.

“Can you imagine taking an unsolicited fax case to a D.A. who’s handling murders and rape cases?” Rabbitt asked.

John Metcalf of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, said the business group had a concern about a related change he said would require businesses to have the consent of other businesses before they sent a fax.

“It just seems like a little bit of overkill,” Metcalf said.

The proposed law would also increase the penalty for violations of the state no-call list to between $1,000 and $10,000 per instance – a steep jump from the current fine of $100 or less.

It’s that last provision that has drawn concern from business groups such as WMC. The Wisconsin Realtors Association is also concerned its members might make a few innocent but mistaken calls and wind up with serious fines, lobbyist Michael Theo said.

But the group wouldn’t object to the stiff fine if lawmakers and regulators can show it’s only meant to be applied to large companies that repeatedly ignore the law, Theo said.