U.S. Court of Appeals Releases Ruling on Constitutionality of Junk Fax Ban

Recently, in State of Missouri, v. American Blast Fax, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit reversed a decision of the District Court which held that 47 U.S.C. § 227 (b)(1)(C) of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 ("TCPA"), a federal law banning unsolicited fax advertisements, violated the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech. Concluding that a federal ban on junk faxes satisfied the constitutional test for the regulation of commercial speech, the Appeals Court found that: (1) there was a substantial governmental interest in protecting the public from the cost shifting and interference that unwanted fax advertisements caused; (2) the means chosen to address these harms directly and materially advanced the desired interest; and (3) the statute was narrowly tailored to create a reasonable fit in achieving its desired objective. Given that future anti-spam legislation would have similar characteristics to the TCPA, many are hoping that the principles considered by the Court in this case will be used to support the constitutionality of a U.S. federal law aimed at prohibiting unsolicited commercial e-mails. To view a copy of the decision, visit: http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/03/03/022705P.pdf Summary by: Nick Wong