Fax-Spammers fax.com Sued For 2.2 Trillion

linuxwrangler writes "Fed up with junk faxes which have been illegal since 1991, a Silicon Valley businessman has launched a lawsuit against junk faxer fax.com. Steve Kirsch seeks the damages provided in the law: $500/fax for the last four years. If certified as a class-action on behalf of the 3 million receipients of the faxes that fax.com claims to send each day the total damages would reach 2.2 billion even without invoking the "triple-damages" clause for "willful" violations. Federal regulators hit fax.com with a 5.4 million fine just two weeks ago after the company ignored numerous warnings from the FCC and was found to be in "flagrant violation" of the law. Fax.com maintains that their actions are protected by the constitution and court decisions in this case could lay the foundation for the future of junk email regulation"

Comments

but, they care about children!

[Anonymous Coward]

if you go to http://www.fax.com/ you will see that Fax.com isn't bad, they care about missing children!

they send faxes about missing children! Without them children would stay missing.

what honerable and praiseworthy advertisers they are.

how long is it going to be until you start getting the 'missing children' spam email? I already get them in the real mail, missing children on one side of a ad, and the otherside, filled with useless spam.

Big business trumps first amendment issues

[Sheetrock]

Not only that, but they may have a point about the lack of constitutionality in the "Junk Fax" law. I get advertisements through the mail that I don't necessarily want because it wouldn't jive with the First Amendment to pass a law to stop them. The same with my telephone, or door-to-door solicitations to sell me stuff or save my soul. And I'm willing to put up with all of this because I treasure others' right to free speech every bit as much as my own.

Why are junk faxes illegal? Because it inconveniences businesses, not people, and we don't mind crippling free speech for the sake of corporations. Criminalizing spam flies in the face of free speech as well, especially given the relative inexpensiveness of the medium as compared to telemarketing or junk mail. Plenty of technological measures are available to combat each of these things at the receiving end. Why must we use the law to silence people when individuals can easily choose not to listen?

Re:5.4 million?

[Backov]

You're right. Jail time isn't the answer.

More death sentences. Death to email and fax spammers.

Cheers,
Backov