the terms of a notification issued under this
subsection, the Commission shall serve upon the
initiator (or such agents or assigns), by reg-
istered or certified mail, a complaint stating the
reasons for its belief and request that any re-
sponse thereto be filed in writing with the Com-
mission within 15 days after the date of such
service.
(B) HEARING AND ORDER.—If the Com-
mission, after an opportunity for a hearing on
the record, determines that the person upon
whom the complaint was served violated the
terms of the notification, the Commission shall
issue an order directing that person to comply
with the terms of the notification.
(C) PRESUMPTION.—For purposes of a de-
termination under subparagraph (B), receipt of
any transmission in violation of a notification of
alleged violation 30 days (excluding Saturdays,
Sundays, and legal public holidays) or more
after the effective date of the notification shall
create a rebuttable presumption that such
transmission was sent after such effective date.
(5) ENFORCEMENT
BY
COURT
ORDER.—Any
district court of the United States within the juris-
diction of which any transmission is sent or received
in violation of a notification given under this sub-
section shall have jurisdiction, upon application by
the Attorney General, to issue an order commanding
compliance with such notification. Failure to observe
such order may be punishable by the court as con-
tempt thereof.
(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—
(1) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.—A recipient or a
provider of Internet access service may, if otherwise
permitted by the laws or rules of court of a State,
bring in an appropriate court of that State, or may
bring in an appropriate Federal court if such laws
or rules do not so permit, either or both of the fol-
lowing actions:
(A) An action based on a violation of sec-
tion 5 to enjoin such violation.
(B) An action to recover for actual mone-
tary loss from such a violation in an amount
equal to the greatest of—
(i) the amount of such actual mone-
tary loss; or
(ii) $500 for each such violation, not
to exceed a total of $50,000.
(2) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—If the court finds
that the defendant willfully, knowingly, or repeatedly
violated section 5, the court may, in its discretion,
increase the amount of the award to an amount
equal to not more than three times the amount
available under paragraph (1).
(3) ATTORNEY FEES.—In any such action, the
court may, in its discretion, require an undertaking
for the payment of the costs of such action, and as-
sess reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’
fees, against any party.
(4) PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS.—At the
request of any party to an action brought pursuant
to this subsection or any other participant in such
an action, the court may, in its discretion, issue pro-
tective orders and conduct legal proceedings in such
a way as to protect the secrecy and security of the
computer, computer network, computer data, com-
puter program, and computer software involved in
order to prevent possible recurrence of the same or
a similar act by another person and to protect any
trade secrets of any such party or participant.
SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.
(a) FEDERAL LAW.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 or 231
of the Communications Act of 1934, chapter 71 (relating
to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of chil-
dren) of title 18, United States Code, or any other Federal
criminal statute.
(b) STATE LAW.—No State or local government may
impose any civil liability for commercial activities or ac-
tions in interstate or foreign commerce in connection with
an activity or action described in section 5 of this Act that
is inconsistent with the treatment of such activities or ac-
tions under this Act, except that this Act shall not pre-
empt any civil remedy under State trespass or contract
law or under any provision of Federal, State, or local
criminal law or any civil remedy available under such law
that relates to acts of computer fraud or abuse arising
from the unauthorized transmission of unsolicited com-
mercial electronic mail messages.
SEC. 8. STUDY OF EFFECTS OF UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL
ELECTRONIC MAIL.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall sub-
mit a report to the Congress that provides a detailed anal-
ysis of the effectiveness and enforcement of the provisions
of this Act and the need (if any) for the Congress to mod-
ify such provisions.
SEC. 9. SEPARABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remain-
der of this Act and the application of such provision to
other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The provisions of this Act shall take effect 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Æ