Junk fax senders may face three-strikes rule

Telecoms services can be disconnected if three substantiated complaints are lodged under watchdog's voluntary code

Senders of junk faxes in Hong Kong may face a new 'three strikes and you're out' rule that could see their phone lines cut off if they pester people with advertising.

The telecoms watchdog has tightened guidelines and urged phone companies to suspend services to junk-fax senders if they have two substantiated complaints, and to disconnect them if they acquire three such grievances.

The code is voluntary, however, and despite receiving hundreds of complaints a year from customers last year about junk faxes, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) has thus far stopped short of calling for legislation against the practice.

It says it is conducting an industry-wide review in coming months to see if the persistent sending of unsolicited advertising faxes should be made a criminal offence as in the US, where the practice became a federal offence in 1991.

Last year, Ofta received 279 customer complaints about unsolicited advertising faxes clogging their phone lines, using up fax paper and toner, and often arriving in the middle of the night at home addresses.

A spokeswoman for Ofta was unable to provide figures for previous years but said complaints were increasing and the watchdog was 'concerned' about the problem. No time limit had been set on the review on legislation, she said.