Legislature Forwards 2 Bills on ‘Spamming’

Sending a clear message to “spammers” that their business is unwelcome in California, the state Legislature approved a measure that allows Internet service providers to sue people who use their systems to send unsolicited commercial e-mail.

But if the bill becomes law, ISPs would be able to take action only against spammers who send unsolicited e-mail through equipment located in California.

“This is a weakness of doing this by state law,” said John Cusey, legislative aide to Assemblyman Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar), who drafted the bill. “A federal law would cover everyone, but a state can only protect those in the state, or the law would violate the Constitution.”

Indeed, the Internet’s global nature makes it difficult to regulate the network on a geographic basis. It’s also tough to track down spammers, because they often send e-mail without a return address. In addition, commercial e-mail companies would be unable to tell if a person lives in California, much less if their ISP has equipment based in the state.

To correct this loophole, the bill calls for ISPs to notify spammers by e-mail or snail mail that there is a state law that prohibits them from sending spam over equipment based in California.

If the spammer violates this policy, an ISP could sue in civil court for $50 a message or up to $25,000 a day. The bill also makes it a crime for spammers to use a stolen e-mail address to send unsolicited e-mail.

A second anti-spamming measure was also approved by lawmakers. The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), would require spammers to provide a toll-free number or a valid return e-mail address that recipients could use to ask to stop receiving mail. The measure also requires spammers to put “ADV:” in the subject line of each message and “ADV:ADLT” for material that’s unsuitable for minors.

If approved, the measure would forbid the spammer from sending more e-mail to a person who asks to be removed from a mailing list. Spammers who ignore the request would face a fine.

Both bills were sent to the governor’s office late last week.