WASHINGTON -- The American Society of Assn. Executives, trying to
thwart a new rule barring unsolicited faxes, said it's had
"encouraging" discussions with -- but not a commitment from -- FCC
officials about postponing the edict.
The ASAE, which heads a coalition of 1,300 organizations against
the fax restrictions -- which are slated to go into effect Aug. 25
-- petitioned for a stay, as did the Business Users Coalition, of
which ASTA is a member.
The new rule, which prohibits certain faxes to individuals and
companies without their prior consent, would presumably impact
travel industry suppliers and agencies, where there is heavy fax
use.
In a financial filing last month, Carnival Corp. said it was
sued last year over the issued of unsolicited faxed advertisements.
However, Carnival said it's policy is that it doesn't fax directly
to consumers.
A spokesman for the ASAE said if the FCC doesn't issue a stay of
the fax rule, the organization "is not going to end our efforts on
the issue."
The ASAE, the spokesman said, is pressing Congress for
corrective action.
On July 25, the FCC issued a final rule that revised the 1991
Telephone Consumer Protection Act; new rules provided consumers
with several options for avoiding unwanted telephone
solicitations.
Under the fax provisions, associations and other business would
be unable to send unsolicited faxes without written consent from
the person receiving the fax.
Keeping track of such data administratively would be burdensome,
the ASAE spokesman said.
"We do not believe that Congress in the original statute
intended to hinder basic communications between associations and
their members," he said.
To contact reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].