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The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) today (January 20) laid charges against a commercial facsimile sender in relation to its contravention of section 39 of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (Cap. 593) (UEMO).
"We received complaints that the sender had been sending commercial facsimile messages that did not contain an unsubscribe statement and to telephone numbers already registered in the do-not-call register for facsimile messages. After investigation, we served an enforcement notice on the sender in May 2013 pursuant to section 38 of the UEMO, requiring it to stop sending further facsimile messages in contravention of the UEMO. However, we continued to receive complaints against the sender, indicating that the sender had not complied with the enforcement notice. In August 2013, we conducted a raid operation and collected further evidence. The sender was summoned today to appear in Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts on February 27, 2014," a spokesman for OFCA said.
The UEMO regulates the sending of commercial electronic messages that have a "Hong Kong link" over a public telecommunications service to an electronic address. Commercial electronic message senders are required to comply with the requirements of the UEMO including, amongst other things, providing accurate sender information and an unsubscribe facility in the message, honouring unsubscribe requests and not sending commercial electronic messages to the numbers registered in the do-not-call register.
According to the UEMO, where a person is contravening the rules about sending commercial electronic messages, or has done so and is likely to continue or repeat the contravention, an enforcement notice may be served directing that person to remedy the contravention. Any person who contravenes an enforcement notice served on him commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $100,000 on the first conviction and to a fine of $500,000 on the second or subsequent conviction.
"Since the UEMO came into full force in December 2007, the number of complaints has drastically reduced from 8 752 in 2008 to 2 046 in 2013. Up to the end of December 2013, we have issued 2 764 advisory letters, 606 warning letters and 23 enforcement notices to commercial electronic message senders who were found, or were likely to have been, in breach of the UEMO. Senders stopped sending further commercial electronic messages in contravention of the enforcement notices that had been served on them, except for this present case," the spokesman said.
"This is the first case of prosecution under the UEMO for contravening an enforcement notice. We are committed to taking prompt and proportionate enforcement actions to enforce the UEMO," the spokesman added.
Ends/Monday, January 20, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:55
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