Internal Affairs Dept enters late 20th century, targets spam faxes

Wednesday 19th October 2011

The Department of Internal Affairs has taken a great leap backwards and announced unsolicited advertising received by fax will count as spam.

At a time when many businesses no longer have a fax and are spending large on anti-spam software, the department has managed to get the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 to include unsolicited faxes.

Previously, they had been exempt from the Act.

To be fair, the department says the move is in response to “many inquiries from people receiving unsolicited commercial faxes, since the Act came into force in 2007.”

“The department advises senders of commercial faxes to familiarise themselves with the Act and, in particular, comply with sections 9, 10, 11, 13 and 15,” a statement said.

Messages must clearly and accurately identify the person who authorised the message being sent, and must include accurate information about how the recipient can readily contact that person.

Furthermore, fax senders must supply a fax number so that recipients can unsubscribe.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet