Fax spam

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A fax spam is a form of direct selling , with unwanted advertisements via fax will be sent device. Fax spam is particularly annoying and costly because of the high consumption of paper and ink.

Legal regulations in Germany

Sending an advertising fax without prior consent is anti-competitive and justifies a judicial injunction . According to Section 7 of the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) , it is considered anti-competitive "if unsolicited faxes are sent to private individuals or companies without the recipient's prior express consent ."

A message is also unfair competition if the identity of the sender is concealed or concealed in the process. It is also imperative that a valid address is given in the message to which the recipient can send a request to discontinue such messages without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs.

In principle, unsolicited faxes can trigger injunctive relief and claims for damages against the sender. The recipient of the advertisement can demand that the advertiser undertake to refrain from sending faxes in the future. The subject of such a declaration of omission is also the agreement of a contractual penalty . First of all, the sender should be asked to submit a declaration of cease and desist with a criminal offense. It is only necessary to initiate legal proceedings if there is no response to the warning. Since the sender violates § 7 UWG, he is still obliged to compensate the competitors for the resulting damage.

The Federal Network Agency offers the possibility of submitting complaints against misuse of telephone numbers, including fax spam, using the contact form online or by printing out the form. In the case of fax spam, the deactivation of the misused phone numbers is ordered after checking. The Federal Network Agency cannot clarify from which connection the spam was sent due to telecommunications secrecy.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UWG - law against unfair competition. Retrieved July 30, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Spam by fax and e-mail - the legal options . In: Lawst.de . ( lawst.de [accessed on July 30, 2018]).
  3. ↑ What can be done against unsolicited fax advertising? In: IHK Region Stuttgart . ( ihk24.de [accessed July 30, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Fax Spam - Antispam Wiki. Retrieved July 30, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Submit a complaint. Federal Network Agency, April 17, 2014, accessed on March 6, 2019 .
  6. ↑ List of measures. Federal Network Agency, accessed on March 6, 2019 (measures taken in the last six months).
  7. ↑ Federal Network Agency - press releases - Federal Network Agency takes action against fax spam. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .