A US appeals court on Friday upheld a law restricting
unsolicited fax advertisements. In a ruling that could bolster the
standing of US anti-spam legislation, the court said that the
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not violate the
Constitutional right of free speech.
The case was brought by the State of Missouri against American Blast Fax and Fax.com, two companies that charge clients to send ads by fax. The companies lost their constitutionality claim against the TCPA, a law which bans the use of a fax or computer "to send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine."
The court wrote:
"There is a substantial governmental interest in protecting the public from the cost shifting and interference caused by unwanted fax advertisements, and the means chosen by Congress to address these harms directly and materially advances the governmental interest. The statute is also narrowly tailored to create a reasonable fit with its objective. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment dismissing the claims asserted under [a section of the TCPA] and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."
CNET News.com notes that, while a number of US states have enacted anti-spam legislation, Congress has not introduced it at the federal level. Friday's ruling could be influential in any case that questions the constitutionality of state laws against spam.
The ruling is available at:
www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/03/03/022705P.pdf
