The House passed the Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act (H.R. 3113) on July 18 by a vote of 427 to 1. The bill, offered by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), would require that unsolicited "commercial" email must be identified as such and accompanied by a valid reply address and instructions so that the recipient can opt out of future mailings. It provides a cause of action for damages if the send fails to respond to a removal request within a reasonable time. Individuals will also be able to file complaints through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is empowered to investigate incidents and recover penalties. The bill would shield Internet Service Providers from liability for either blocking or retransmitting unsolicited commercial email. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Previous state attempts to regulate e-mail spam have been ruled unconstitutional by state courts in Washington state and California as inappropriate restrictions on interstate commerce
This article first appeared in the IEEE-USA Eye on Washington (07/21/00).