Consumer And Governmental Affairs Bureau Seeks Comment On Petitions Concerning The Commission's Rule On Opt-Out Notices On Fax Advertisements

Two petitions have been filed seeking a waiver of section 64.1200(a)(4)(iv) of the Commission’s rules, which requires that an opt-out notice containing certain information be included in fax ads sent to a consumer who has provided prior express invitation or permission. With this Public Notice, we seek comment on the Petitions as described below. Specifically, Petitioners seek retroactive waiver of the opt-out notice requirement for fax ads they sent where prior express invitation or permission allegedly had been obtained from the recipients. The Petitioners argue that good cause exists because they are similarly situated to parties who were granted retroactive waivers from this requirement by the Commission in the Anda Order. In the Anda Order, the Commission granted retroactive waivers to several individual petitioners because of uncertainty about whether the opt-out notice requirement applied to “solicited” faxes.