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I don't know, but I would guess if junk mail is different, it is because of the special letter delivery laws that the US Post Office has. It would probably require some "CAN-SPAM" equivalent type law for letters to get rid of junk mail. But, as the PO gets paid for each letter, I doubt any such law would get through.

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Exactly, but if I was the lawyer defending the phonebooks, that's exactly the argument I'd make--that the PO was no different and that paying a government employee to deliver the document* shouldn't make the act any more legitimate than paying your own employee to do so. You could argue it's anti-competitive or that it's essentially a bribe to the government as well.

*Document meaning any letter, junk mail, leaflet, flyer, or phonebook.

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