Many businesses may be deluged by and focused on the problems of email spam, but in Hong Kong the government is still going after fax spammers.
Hong Kong's Office of the Communications Authority says it conducted a raid operation at the end of August against a commercial facsimile sender in relation to its possible contravention of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance. During the raid operation, one computer was seized for further analysis and investigation.
The UEMO went into effect in Hong Kong in December 2007. The UEMO regulates the sending of commercial electronic messages that have a "Hong Kong link" over a public telecommunications service to an electronic address.
"We received a number of complaints against the sender in the past few months. After investigation, we found that the sender had sent out unsolicited facsimile messages in such a way that might have contravened the UEMO. In May 2013, we served an enforcement notice on the sender pursuant to section 38 of the UEMO requiring it to stop sending further facsimile messages in contravention of the UEMO. Despite our enforcement notice, we continued receiving complaints against the sender. We therefore mounted a raid operation yesterday to collect further evidence for consideration on whether to take prosecution actions," a spokesperson from OFCA said.
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 offense and is liable to a fine of HKD100,000 on the first conviction.
