Junk fax

Key takeaways

Junk fax belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Junk fax to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Junk fax from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Junk faxes are a form of telemarketing where unsolicited advertisements are sent via fax transmission. Junk faxes are the faxed equivalent of spam or junk mail. Proponents of this advertising medium often use the terms broadcast fax or fax advertising to avoid the negative connotation of the term junk fax. Junk faxes are generally considered to be a nuisance since they waste toner, ink and paper in fax machines.

History Junk faxing came into widespread use in the late 1980s as a result of the development and proliferation of relatively inexpensive desktop fax machines which resulted in rapid growth in the number of fax machines in the U.S.[1] The invention of the computer-based fax board in 1985 by Dr. Hank Magnuski, provided an efficient platform for reaching those fax machines with minimal cost and effort. The fax machines of this period typically used expensive thermal paper and a common complaint about junk faxes was that they consumed that expensive paper without permission, thus shifting the cost of printing the advertisement to the recipient. In the U.S., the passage of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in 1991 along with action by individual states reduced the use of junk faxes at that time. However, by the late 1990s, junk faxing had once again become a widespread problem in the U.S., with the entry of a number of large-scale fax broadcasters who boasted of the capacity to send millions of fax advertisements per day. Because the legal restrictions of fax advertising are more widely known today, junk faxes are now predominately used in connection with disreputable or fly-by-night marketers.

National regulations

United States The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (47 USC 227), or TCPA, among other things specifically outlawed junk faxing:

the use of any telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine (paragraph (b)(1)(C)) The TCPA also requires a fax transmitter to identify the source phone number and transmitting organization or individual on each page. The process of war dialing to determine what phone numbers reach fax machines was also prohibited by the FCC rules under the TCPA. The TCPA, in particular the junk fax provision, has been challenged in court on First Amendment grounds, but the law has withstood legal challenges. In 2005, the United States Congress passed the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005. It amended the TCPA so as to no longer prohibit unsolicited fax advertisements if:

the unsolicited advertisement is from a sender with an established business relationship with the recipient(paragraph (b)(1)(C)(i)) and the sender complies with other requirements. In April 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implemented changes to the fax advertising rules of the TCPA. The new rules: (1) codify an established business relationship (EBR) exemption to the prohibition on sending unsolicited fax advertisements; (2) define EBR as used in the context of unsolicited fax advertisements; (3) require the sender of fax advertisements to provide specified notice and contact information on the fax that allows recipients to "opt-out" of any future transmissions from the sender; and (4) specify the circumstances under which a request to "opt-out" complies with the Act. The new rules took effect in August 2006. The federal TCPA permits state junk faxing laws that are equal to or more restrictive than the federal law, and so many states have their own laws regarding junk faxes. Additionally, some courts have ruled that unsolicited fax advertisements are common law conversion, independent of any statutory provisions or exemptions.

Enforcement The FCC can investigate violations and impose fines on the violators. Individuals who receive junk faxes can file a complaint with the FCC. Complaints must specify:

That the sender did not have permission to send the fax (i.e. unsolicited) That the complainant did not have a prior business relationship with the sender That the fax was for a good or service Any telephone number or addresses included in the fax Your name, address, and a telephone number where you can be reached during the day The telephone number through which you received the fax advertisement A copy of the fax advertisement, if possible, or confirmation that you have retained a copy of the fax Failure to provide any of the above information may result in the complaint being closed without further action. State authorities can also take actions against violations of the TCPA. It is also possible for the recipient of a junk fax to bring a private suit against the violator in an appropriate court of their state. Through a private suit, the recipient can either recover the actual monetary loss that resulted from the TCPA violation, or receive $500 in damages for each violation, whichever is greater. The court may triple the damages for each violation if it finds that the defendant acted willingly or knowingly. The FCC and/or the FTC can impose additional civil penalties of up to $11,000.00 per fax transmitted.

United Kingdom According to the government legislation on 1 May 1999, it is unlawful to send an individual an unsolicited sales and marketing fax without any prior consent of the customer. If the fax receiver is a company or corporate instances, fax communications are permitted unless the subscriber has previously notified the caller that such communications should not be sent on that line; or the subscriber’s line is listed in the register kept under regulation 25 of PECR. This register is maintained on behalf of OFCOM by the Direct Marketing Association and is branded as the Facsimile Preference Service ("FPS").

Canada Unsolicited faxes are regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and must follow certain guidelines, but there is no individual right to sue the senders.[2] Information on the rules of telemarketing faxes in Canada can be found in the CRTC Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules. Individuals wishing to avoid such faxes may enroll in the CRTC's National Do Not Call List; its effectiveness, however, is a point of controversy.

Hong Kong The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OTA) has implemented regulations to address junk faxes. Complaints will result in disconnection of the offenders' phone service.[3]

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Junk fax

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Junk fax claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Junk fax before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Junk fax ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Junk fax

In research: Junk fax appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Junk fax in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Junk fax is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Direct marketing, Fax, Spamming, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Junk fax outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Junk fax in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Junk fax means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Junk fax out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Junk fax in simple terms?

Junk faxes are a form of telemarketing where unsolicited advertisements are sent via fax transmission. Junk faxes are the faxed equivalent of spam or junk mail.

Why does Junk fax matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Junk fax?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Junk fax.