The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) has adopted a declaratory ruling clarifying that a fax broadcaster is solely liable under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when it engages in deceptive or fraudulent acts against the advertiser. The CGB added that this includes when a fax broadcaster violates its contract with the advertiser in a manner that is deceptive or fraudulent. The TCPA, as amended by the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (Junk Fax Act), prohibits any person from sending an unsolicited advertisement to a “telephone facsimile machine” with limited exceptions. This declaratory ruling was prompted by a petition seeking clarification as to the definition of “sender” made by the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (Akin Gump) in 2019. The CGB noted that its clarification will deter fax broadcasters from sending unwanted faxes to consumers.
