WHAT IS IT ABOUT California? Do its legislators believe they missed their true calling when they decided not to go to clown school?
One current example of the Golden State’s legislative geniuses at work is an anti-fax law slated to go into effect Jan. 1.
Last Oct. 7 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized a ban on unsolicited commercial faxes that made it illegal for California businesses to send such faxes to the rest of the United States or within the state without prior written consent from recipients. It’s also illegal under California law for companies outside the state to fax into California without first getting recipients’ written consent.
The first question that comes to mind, of course, is how many businesses still rely on faxing? And why are legislators spending any time on this? Apparently, enough businesses still fax to make California’s law a nationally contentious issue.
For example, the National Chamber Litigation Center — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s public policy law firm — filed a lawsuit in a California federal court this past November seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from enforcing its law.
At about the same time, the Fax Ban Coalition — an ad hoc, broad-based group of trade associations and businesses — submitted a petition to the Federal Communications Commission hoping to get the FCC to rule that California’s fax ban is out of the state’s jurisdiction.
The groups are trying to get the FCC, the court or both to rule that the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act overrides California’s law. The act was amended last July to allow faxes to be sent to businesses and people with whom senders have an established relationship.
In the name of all that is sane, the death of California’s fax ban can’t come quickly enough. Unsolicited faxes to businesses the sender has no relationship with already are illegal. As a result, California’s anti-fax law attacks a small nuisance at best.
At the same time, it forces businesses into a ridiculous position with clients.
Case in point: I recently received an e-mail explaining the policy of Direct’s parent company regarding promotional faxes to California.
“As of Jan. 1, 2006, no promotional fax message may be sent to or from California either by telephonic fax machine or computer fax,” the e-mail from corporate said.
Fair enough.
However, following the no-fax order was an example of how California’s poorly thought-out fax ban will force businesses to respond absurdly to requests from customers.
“If an individual directly requests that promotional material (such as rate card information, media kit PDF, issue closing message, etc.) be sent to them via fax either into or out of California, please do the following. Before that promotional material is faxed, ask the individual to send you a written request for the information authorizing you to send them that promotional material via fax. This permission can be sent to you via e-mail or fax.”
Once we get written permission, we can fax our customers, right?
Not so fast.
“Prior to sending the fax, check that the fax number is not in the SmartSource fax blacklist database,” corporate’s e-mail continued. “If the fax number is in the blacklist, you may not send the requested materials via fax. An opt out overrides the written opt-in request. Attach the signed opt-in to each fax sent to that person.”
Getting. Very. Tired. Now.
By the time we get permission and check the fax number against a blacklist, we probably could have walked the damn document over.
Ironically, this anti-fax legislation aimed at preventing companies from becoming nuisances to one another is an even bigger annoyance than anything any marketer could’ve dreamed up.
Here’s hoping the FCC and/or federal court sees California’s fax ban as the business-stifling overreach that it is.
Network
