§ John RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and industry what steps her Department is taking to protect consumers from unsolicited faxes. [171348]
§ Mr. TimmsIndividual subscribers are offered protection from unsolicited direct marketing faxes under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 and the sending of such faxes is prohibited unless individuals have given their prior consent.
Corporate subscribers are protected from receiving unsolicited direct marketing faxes if they have previously notified the sender that they do wish to receive such faxes or have been registered for at least 28 95W days with the Fax Preference Service (FPS), which is an "opt-out" scheme and is run on Ofcom's behalf by the Direct Marketing Association.