By: Jeffrey Backman, Esq., Roy Taub, Esq., and Jacob Mars, Esq.
On August 17, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau issued an Order on Reconsideration, DA 26-862, reinstating three previously dismissed applications for review concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (“TCPA”) restrictions on unsolicited fax advertisements.
The Order stems from applications for review filed by (1) Anderson + Wanca, (2) Career Counseling Services, Inc., and (3) Cin-Q Automobiles, Inc. The applications challenge the FCC’s declaratory rulings addressing whether faxes sent to online fax services fall within the TCPA’s prohibition on unsolicited advertisements sent to a “telephone facsimile machine.” See In re Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Pet. for Expedited Clarification or Declaratory Ruling, CG Docket Nos. 02-278, 05-338, Declaratory Ruling, 2020 WL 5747205 (CGAB Sept. 21, 2020); In re Petition of Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc. for Declaratory Ruling, CG Docket Nos. 02-278, 05-338, Declaratory Ruling, 2020 WL 5362216 (CGAB Sept. 4, 2020); In re Amerifactors Fin. Group, LLC Pet. for Expedited Declaratory Ruling, CG Docket Nos. 02-278, 05-338, Declaratory Ruling, 2019 WL 6712128 (CGB Dec. 9, 2019) (collectively, the “Declaratory Rulings). The Declaratory Rulings concluded that communications sent to an online fax service or fax server did not fall within that statutory definition.
In May 2026, the Bureau dismissed the three applications with prejudice, characterizing them as moot or outdated. The petitioners subsequently sought reconsideration, asserting that they had not received proper notice of the Bureau’s proposed dismissal. Each petitioner submitted a sworn declaration supporting the lack-of-notice argument.
The Bureau granted reconsideration based on the notice issue and reinstated the applications for review. Although the Order on Reconsideration expressly declined to address the merits of the applications, the reinstatement nevertheless places the treatment of online fax transmissions back before the Commission. The underlying applications for review could ultimately require the FCC to revisit the scope of the TCPA’s fax restrictions and the continuing applicability of its interpretation to modern online fax technologies.
For businesses that use online fax services or rely on the FCC’s Declaratory Rulings in evaluating TCPA exposure, the reinstatement is an important development to monitor. At this stage, however, the FCC has taken no position on the merits of the challenges, and the legal status of the Declaratory Rulings has not changed as a result of DA 26-862.
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