The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered a small business owner to pay nearly $100,000 for repeatedly delivering unsolicited advertisements via fax to consumers in violation of federal law.
Issued in January 2015, the Commission’s Forfeiture Order levies a penalty of $87,500 against Worldwide Industrial Enterprises for faxing 17 advertisements for its floor and driveway sealant products to customers with whom it did not have an established business relationship. The Forfeiture Order follows repeated efforts over more than six years to stop the flow of junk faxes from the company, including a Citation issued in November 2009 and a Notice of Apparent Liability issued in April 2011. The Commission reports that it continued to receive consumer complaints about junk faxes from the company, even after warning company executives that subsequent violations could result in monetary fines.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 makes it “unlawful for any person within the United States…to use any telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device, to send, to a telephone facsimile machine, an unsolicited advertisement,” without prior authorization of the recipient.
Read the complete text of the Commission’s Forfeiture Order against Worldwide.
