I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2515
To prevent unsolicited commercial electronic mail. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 18, 2003
Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico (for herself, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. PICK-
ERING, Mr. DINGELL, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. 
MARKEY, Mr. PITTS, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Ms. 
ESHOO, Mr. TERRY, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. PENCE, Ms. MCCARTHY of Mis-
souri, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. MCINNIS, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. BACA, Mr. FRANK of 
Massachusetts, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. SKELTON, and Mr. LANGEVIN) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent unsolicited commercial electronic mail.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Anti-Spam Act of 2003’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Congressional findings and policy. 
TITLE I—PROTECTIONS AGAINST CERTAIN COMMERCIAL 
ELECTRONIC MAIL 
Sec. 101. Restrictions on commercial electronic mail. 
Sec. 102. Private right of action for providers of Internet access service. 
Sec. 103. Actions by States. 
Sec. 104. Attorney’s fees. 
Sec. 105. Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission. 
Sec. 106. Exclusiveness of remedies. 
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE 
Sec. 201. Criminal penalties and related provisions. 
TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 301. Regulations and report. 
Sec. 302. Effect on other laws. 
Sec. 303. Study of effectiveness and enforcement. 
Sec. 304. Definitions. 
Sec. 305. Effective date.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) There is a right of free speech on the Inter-
net. 
(2) The Internet has increasingly become a crit-
ical mode of global communication and now presents 
unprecedented opportunities for the development and 
growth of global commerce and an integrated world-
wide economy. In order for global commerce on the 
Internet to reach its full potential, individuals and 
entities using the Internet and other online services 
should be prevented from engaging in activities that 
prevent other users and Internet service providers 
from having a reasonably predictable, efficient, and 
economical online experience.
(3) Commercial electronic mail can be an im-
portant mechanism through which businesses adver-
tise and contact consumers in the online environ-
ment. 
(4) The receipt of unwanted commercial elec-
tronic mail may result in costs to recipients who 
cannot refuse to accept such mail and who incur 
costs for the storage of such mail, or for the time 
spent accessing, reviewing, and discarding such mail, 
or for both. 
(5) Unwanted commercial electronic mail may 
impose significant monetary costs on Internet access 
services, businesses, and educational and nonprofit 
institutions that carry and receive such mail, as 
there is a finite volume of mail that such providers, 
businesses, and institutions can handle without fur-
ther investment. The sending of such mail is increas-
ingly and negatively affecting the quality of service 
provided to customers of Internet access service, and 
shifting costs from the sender of the advertisement 
to the Internet access service. 
(6) While some senders of commercial electronic 
mail messages provide simple and reliable ways for 
recipients to reject (or ‘‘opt-out’’ of) receipt of unso-
licited commercial electronic mail from such senders
in the future, other senders provide no such ‘‘opt-
out’’ mechanism, or refuse to honor the requests of 
recipients not to receive electronic mail from such 
senders in the future, or both. 
(7) An increasing number of senders of com-
mercial electronic mail purposefully disguise the 
source of such mail so as to prevent recipients from 
responding to such mail quickly and easily. 
(8) Many senders of unsolicited commercial 
electronic mail collect or harvest electronic mail ad-
dresses of potential recipients without the knowledge 
of those recipients and in violation of the rules or 
terms of service of the database from which such ad-
dresses are collected. 
(9) Because recipients of unwanted commercial 
electronic mail are often unable to avoid the receipt 
of such mail through reasonable means, such mail 
may invade the privacy of recipients and infringe on 
their privacy rights.
(10) In legislating against certain abuses on the 
Internet, Congress should be very careful to avoid 
infringing in any way upon constitutionally protected 
rights, including the rights of assembly, free speech, 
and privacy.
(b) CONGRESSIONAL DETERMINATION
OF PUBLIC 
POLICY.—On the basis of the findings in subsection (a), 
the Congress determines that—
(1) there is substantial government interest in 
regulation of commercial electronic mail; 
(2) Consumers and Internet service providers 
should not be compelled to bear the costs of un-
wanted commercial electronic mail; and 
(3) recipients of commercial electronic mail 
have a right to decline to receive or have their chil-
dren receive unwanted commercial electronic mail. 
TITLE I—PROTECTIONS AGAINST 
CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ELEC-
TRONIC MAIL 
SEC. 101. RESTRICTIONS ON COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC 
MAIL. 
(a) REQUIRED INCLUSIONS IN COMMERCIAL ELEC-
TRONIC MAIL.—
(1) INCLUSION
OF
IDENTIFIER, OPT-OUT, E-
MAIL ADDRESS, AND PHYSICAL ADDRESS.—No per-
son may initiate in or affecting interstate commerce 
the transmission, to a covered computer, of any com-
mercial electronic mail message unless the message 
contains all of the following:
(A) IDENTIFICATION.—Clear and con-
spicuous identification that the message is a 
commercial electronic mail message. 
(B) NOTICE OF OPT-OUT.—Clear and con-
spicuous notice of the opportunity under sub-
paragraph (C) to decline to receive future com-
mercial electronic mail messages from the send-
er or any covered affiliate of the sender. 
(C) E-MAIL ADDRESS OR OTHER MECHA-
NISM TO OPT-OUT.—A functioning return elec-
tronic mail address or other Internet-based 
mechanism, clearly and conspicuously displayed, 
that—
(i) a recipient may use to submit, in 
a manner specified by the sender, a reply 
electronic mail message or other form of 
Internet-based communication requesting 
not to receive any future commercial elec-
tronic mail messages from that sender, or 
any covered affiliate of the sender, at the 
electronic mail address where the message 
was received; 
(ii) in the case of any such other 
Internet-based mechanism, when so used, 
directly submits such a request or clearly
and conspicuously provides a manner for 
submitting such a request; and 
(iii) remains capable of receiving such 
messages or communications for no less 
than 30 days after the transmission of the 
original message. 
(D) STREET ADDRESS.—A valid physical 
street address of the sender. 
(2) MORE DETAILED REQUESTS POSSIBLE.—In 
a message complying with the requirements of para-
graph (1)(C), the sender of a commercial electronic 
mail message may also include, in the message, op-
tions for the recipient to submit more detailed re-
quests concerning the types of commercial electronic 
mail messages that the recipient does or does not 
wish to receive in the future from the sender, or a 
covered affiliate of the sender, based upon products, 
services, divisions, organizations, companies, or 
other selections. 
(3) TEMPORARY INABILITY TO RECEIVE MES-
SAGES.—A return electronic mail address or other 
mechanism does not fail to satisfy the requirements 
of paragraph (1)(C) if it is unexpectedly and tempo-
rarily unable to receive messages due to a problem 
beyond the control of the sender, if the problem with
receiving messages is corrected within a reasonable 
time period. 
(b) PROHIBITION OF TRANSMISSION OF COMMERCIAL 
ELECTRONIC MAIL AFTER OBJECTION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—If a recipient makes a re-
quest to a sender, using a mechanism provided pur-
suant to subsection (a)(1)(C), not to receive some or 
any commercial electronic mail messages from such 
sender, or any covered affiliate of the sender, except 
as provided in paragraph (2)—
(A) the sender, or any covered affiliate of 
the sender, may not initiate the transmission to 
the recipient, during the 5-year period begin-
ning the shortest period of time after the re-
ceipt of such request as is reasonable to allow 
effectuation of such request, as the Commission 
shall determine, of any commercial electronic 
mail message that falls within the scope of the 
request, except that during any period begin-
ning upon the effective date under section 305 
and ending upon the determination by the Com-
mission regarding such shortest reasonable pe-
riod, such 5-year period shall begin 10 days 
after receipt of such request;
(B) no person acting on behalf of the send-
er or any covered affiliate of the sender may 
initiate the transmission to the recipient, during 
the 5-year period beginning the shortest period 
of time after the receipt by such person of such 
request as is reasonable to allow effectuation of 
such request, as the Commission shall deter-
mine, of any commercial electronic mail mes-
sage that falls within the scope of the request, 
except that during any period beginning upon 
the effective date under section 305 and ending 
upon the determination by the Commission re-
garding such shortest reasonable period, such 
5-year period shall begin 10 days after receipt 
of such request; 
(C) no person acting on behalf of the send-
er, or any covered affiliate of the sender, may 
assist in initiating the transmission to the re-
cipient, through the provision or selection of ad-
dresses to which the message will be trans-
mitted, of any commercial electronic mail mes-
sage that would violate subparagraph (A) or 
(B); and 
(D) the sender, or any covered affiliate of 
the sender, may not sell, lease, exchange, or
otherwise transfer or release the electronic mail 
address of the recipient (including through any 
transaction or other transfer involving mailing 
lists bearing the electronic mail address of the 
recipient) for any purpose other than compli-
ance with this Act or any other provision of 
law. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT
CONSENT
TO
COMMERCIAL 
ELECTRONIC
MAIL
MESSAGES.—Notwithstanding a 
recipient’s most recent request described in para-
graph (1) to a sender, such request shall not be con-
sidered to have been made for purposes of such 
paragraph, with respect to a commercial electronic 
mail message if—
(A) the message falls within the scope of 
an express and unambiguous invitation or con-
sent granted by the recipient subsequent to 
such request made; and
(B) the recipient had clear and con-
spicuous notice, at the time such invitation or 
consent was granted, of—
(i) the fact that the recipient was 
granting the invitation or consent; 
(ii) the scope of the invitation or con-
sent, including what types of commercial
electronic mail messages would be covered 
by the invitation or consent and what 
senders or types of senders, if any, other 
than the party to whom the invitation or 
consent was communicated would be cov-
ered by the invitation or consent; and 
(iii) the mechanism under subsection 
(a)(1)(C). 
(c) PROHIBITION
OF
COMMERCIAL
ELECTRONIC 
MAIL WITH FALSE OR MISLEADING HEADER INFORMA-
TION OR SUBJECT HEADINGS.—No person may initiate 
in or affecting interstate commerce the transmission, to 
a covered computer, of any commercial electronic mail 
message or any commercial transactional electronic mail 
message, that—
(1) contains or is accompanied by header infor-
mation that is false or misleading (including header 
information that uses a third party’s domain name 
without the third party’s permission); for purposes 
of this paragraph, header information that includes 
an originating electronic mail address the use of 
which in connection with the message was not au-
thorized by a legitimate holder of the address, or ac-
cess to which was obtained by means of false or
fraudulent pretense or representations, shall be con-
sidered misleading; or 
(2) contains a subject heading that would be 
likely to mislead a recipient, acting reasonably under 
the circumstances, about a material fact regarding 
the contents or subject matter of the message. 
(d) PROHIBITION
OF TRANSMISSION
OF CERTAIN 
COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL FROM ILLEGALLY HAR-
VESTED ELECTRONIC MAIL ADDRESSES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—No person may initiate in or 
affecting interstate commerce the transmission, to a 
covered computer, of a commercial electronic mail 
message that is prohibited under subsection (a), (b), 
or (c), or assist in the origination of such a message 
through the provision or selection of electronic mail 
addresses to which the transmission of such message 
is initiated, if—
(A) the electronic mail address of the re-
cipient was obtained, using an automated 
means, from an Internet website or proprietary 
online service operated by another person; and 
(B) the website or proprietary online serv-
ice from which the address was obtained in-
cluded, at the time the address was obtained, a 
notice stating that the operator of such a
website or proprietary online service will not 
give, sell, or otherwise transfer addresses main-
tained by such site or service to any other party 
for the purpose of initiating, or enabling others 
to initiate, commercial electronic mail messages. 
(2) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this subsection 
creates an ownership or proprietary interest in such 
electronic mail addresses. 
(e) PROHIBITION OF DICTIONARY ATTACKS OF COM-
MERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL.—No person may—
(1) initiate in or affecting interstate commerce 
the transmission, to a covered computer, of any com-
mercial electronic mail message or any commercial 
transactional electronic mail message, if the elec-
tronic mail address of the recipient was generated 
messages by use of automated means based on per-
mutations of combining names, letters, or numbers 
for the purpose of sending commercial electronic 
mail; or 
(2) assist in initiating, in or affecting interstate 
commerce, such a message through such generation 
of electronic mail addresses to which the trans-
mission of the message is initiated.
(f) REQUIREMENT TO PLACE WARNING LABELS ON 
COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL CONTAINING SEXUALLY 
ORIENTED MATERIAL.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—No person may initiate in or 
affecting interstate commerce the transmission, to a 
covered computer, of any commercial electronic mail 
message that includes sexually oriented material 
and—
(A) fail to include in subject heading for 
the electronic mail message the marks or no-
tices prescribed by the Commission under this 
subsection; or 
(B) fail to provide that the matter in the 
message that is initially viewable to the recipi-
ent, when the message is opened by any recipi-
ent and absent any further actions by the re-
cipient, includes only—
(i) to the extent required or author-
ized pursuant to paragraph (2), any such 
marks or notices; 
(ii) the information required to be in-
cluded in the message pursuant to sub-
paragraphs (B) and (C) of subsection 
(a)(1); and
(iii) instructions on how to access, or 
a mechanism to access, the sexually ori-
ented material. 
(2) PRESCRIPTION OF MARKS AND NOTICES.—
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commission shall prescribe 
marks or notices to be included in or associated with 
commercial electronic mail that contains sexually 
oriented material, in order to inform the recipient of 
that fact and to facilitate filtering of such electronic 
mail. 
(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘sexually oriented material’’ means any material 
that depicts sexually explicit conduct (as that term 
is defined in section 2256 of title 18, United States 
Code), unless the depiction constitutes a small and 
insignificant part of the whole, the remainder of 
which is not primarily devoted to sexual matters.
SEC. 102. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION FOR PROVIDERS OF 
INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—A provider of Internet access 
service adversely affected by—
(1) a pattern or practice of violations of section 
101(a), subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section
101(b)(1), or the regulations prescribed under such 
section or subparagraph, or 
(2) a violation of subsection (c), (d), (e), or (f) 
of section 101 or the regulations prescribed under 
such subsection, 
may bring, in an appropriate district court of the United 
States, either or both of the civil actions under subsection 
(b). 
(b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—The civil actions under this 
subsection are as follows: 
(1) INJUNCTION.—An action to enjoin the de-
fendant from further engaging in such pattern or 
practice or committing any further violation, as ap-
propriate. 
(2) DAMAGES.—An action to obtain damages in 
an amount equal to the greater of—
(A) the actual damages incurred by the 
provider of Internet access service as a result of 
such violation; or 
(B) the amount determined under sub-
section (c). 
(c) STATUTORY DAMAGES.—
(1) VIOLATIONS OF REQUIRED INCLUSION AND 
OPT-OUT PROVISIONS.—In the case of a violation de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1) of this section:
(A) DAMAGES PER VIOLATION.—Except as 
provided in subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), 
the amount determined under this subsection is 
$10 for each separate electronic mail address to 
which is initiated, in violation of such sub-
section, the transmission of a commercial elec-
tronic mail message, over the facilities of the 
provider of Internet access service. 
(B) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in 
subparagraphs (C) and (D), for each commer-
cial electronic mail message the transmission of 
which is unlawfully initiated and that is ad-
dressed to multiple electronic mail addresses, 
the amount determined under subparagraph (A) 
may not exceed $500,000. 
(C) TREBLE DAMAGES FOR INTENTIONAL 
VIOLATIONS.—If the court finds in an action 
for such a violation that the defendant com-
mitted the violation willfully or knowingly, the 
court may, in its discretion, increase the 
amount of the limitation under subparagraph 
(B) to an amount equal to not more than three 
times the amount otherwise available under 
such subparagraph, not to exceed $1,500,000. 
(D) REDUCTION.—
(i) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), the court shall reduce the amount 
under subparagraph (A) for each violation 
if the court determines that—
(I) the defendant established and 
implemented, with due care, reason-
able practices and procedures in-
tended to prevent such violations; and 
(II) such violations occurred de-
spite good faith efforts to maintain 
compliance with such practices and 
procedures. 
(ii) LIMITATION.—If the amount oth-
erwise determined under this paragraph 
exceeds $75,000, the court may not reduce 
the amount under subparagraph (A) of 
this paragraph for each violation such that 
the amount determined under this para-
graph is less than $75,000. 
(2) VIOLATIONS
OF
HEADER
INFORMATION, 
SUBJECT HEADING, HARVESTING, DICTIONARY AT-
TACK, AND SEXUALLY ORIENTED MATERIAL PROVI-
SIONS.—In the case of a violation described in sub-
section (a)(2) of this section, the amount determined 
under this subsection is $100 for each separate elec-
tronic mail address to which the transmission of an 
electronic mail message is initiated in violation of 
such subsection. 
SEC. 103. ACTIONS BY STATES. 
(a) CIVIL ACTION.—In any case in which the attor-
ney general of a State has reason to believe that the inter-
ests of the residents of that State have been or are being 
threatened or adversely affected because any person has 
engaged or is engaging in—
(1) a pattern or practice of initiating trans-
missions to residents of that State that violates sub-
section (a) or (b) of section 101 or the regulations 
prescribed under such section, or 
(2) a violation of subsection (c), (d), (e), or (f) 
of section 101 or the regulations prescribed under 
such section, 
the State, as parens patriae, may bring either or both of 
the civil actions under subsection (b) on behalf of its resi-
dents. 
(b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—The civil actions under this 
subsection are as follows: 
(1) INJUNCTION.—An action to enjoin the de-
fendant from further engaging in such pattern or 
practice or committing any further violation, as ap-
propriate.
(2) DAMAGES.—An action to obtain damages 
on behalf of residents of the State, in an amount 
equal to the greater of—
(A) the actual damages suffered by such 
residents; or 
(B) the amount determined under sub-
section (c). 
(c) STATUTORY DAMAGES.—
(1) PER
VIOLATION.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), for purposes of subsection (a)(2)(B), 
the amount determined under this subsection is 
$500 for each separate electronic mail address to 
which the transmission of an electronic mail message 
is initiated in violation of section 101 or the regula-
tions prescribed under such section. 
(2) TREBLE DAMAGES FOR INTENTIONAL VIO-
LATIONS.—In an action under this section, the court 
may, in its discretion, increase the amount of the 
award to an amount equal to not more than three
times the amount otherwise available under para-
graph (1) if the court determines that the defendant 
willfully or knowingly violated section 101 or the 
regulations prescribed under such section. 
(d) 
EXCLUSIVE
JURISDICTION
OF
FEDERAL 
COURTS.—The district courts of the United States, the
United States courts of any territory, and the District 
Court of the United States for the District of Columbia 
shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all civil actions 
brought under this section. Upon proper application, such 
courts shall also have jurisdiction to issue writs of man-
damus, or orders affording like relief, commanding the de-
fendant to comply with the provisions of section 101 or 
the regulations prescribed under such section, including 
the requirement that the defendant take such action as 
is necessary to remove the danger of such violation. Upon 
a proper showing, a permanent or temporary injunction 
or restraining order against the defendant shall be granted 
without bond. 
(e) RIGHTS OF COMMISSION.—
(1) NOTICE OF STATE ACTION AND INTERVEN-
TION.—The State shall serve prior written notice of 
any civil action under this section upon the Commis-
sion and provide the Commission with a copy of its 
complaint, except in any case where such prior no-
tice is not feasible, in which case the State shall 
serve such notice immediately upon instituting such 
action. Upon receiving a notice regarding a civil ac-
tion, the Commission shall have the right to inter-
vene in the action and, upon so intervening, to be
heard on all matters arising in the action, and to file 
petitions for appeal. 
(2) LIMITATION IN CASES OF ACTION BY COM-
MISSION.—Whenever a civil action has been insti-
tuted by or on behalf of the Commission for a viola-
tion of section 101 or the regulations prescribed 
under such section, no State may, during the pend-
ency of such action instituted by or on behalf of the 
Commission, institute a civil action under this sec-
tion against any defendant named in the complaint 
in such action for any such violation alleged in such 
complaint. 
(f) VENUE AND SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Any civil ac-
tion brought under this section in a district court of the 
United States may be brought in the district in which the 
defendant is found, is an inhabitant, or transacts business 
or wherever venue is proper under section 1391 of title 
28, United States Code. Process in such an action may 
be served in any district in which the defendant is an in-
habitant or in which the defendant may be found. 
(g) INVESTIGATORY
POWERS.—For purposes of 
bringing any civil action under this section, nothing in this 
Act shall prevent the attorney general of a State from ex-
ercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by 
the laws of such State to conduct investigations or to ad-
minister oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance 
of witnesses or the production of documentary and other 
evidence. 
(h) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.—
(1) VIOLATIONS OF STATE LAW.—Nothing in 
this section shall prohibit an authorized State offi-
cial from proceeding in State court on the basis of 
an alleged violation of any civil or criminal statute 
of such State. 
(2) AUTHORIZED STATE OFFICERS.—In addi-
tion to actions brought by an attorney general of a 
State under subsection (a) of this section, such an 
action may be brought by officers of such State who 
are authorized by the State to bring actions in such 
State on behalf of its residents. 
SEC. 104. ATTORNEY’S FEES. 
In any action brought under section 102 or 103, the 
court may, in its discretion, require an undertaking for 
the payment of costs of such action, and assess reasonable 
costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, against any 
party found in the action to have committed a violation 
on which the action was based.
SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS-
SION. 
The same powers and authorities by which the Fed-
eral Trade Commission and the Attorney General enforce 
compliance, by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the 
Commission under the Federal Trade Commission Act, 
with the provisions of such Act and the regulations issued 
thereunder by the Commission, shall be available to the 
Commission and the Attorney General to enforce compli-
ance, by all persons, with the provisions of section 101 
of this Act and the regulations issued under such section. 
For purposes of exercising such powers and authorities to 
enforce compliance with rules issued under section 101 of 
this Act, such rules shall be treated as having been issued 
under section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(notwithstanding issuance in accordance with section 
301(a) of this Act). 
SEC. 106. EXCLUSIVENESS OF REMEDIES. 
The remedies of this title are the exclusive civil rem-
edies for violations of section 101.
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO 
TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE 
SEC. 201. CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND RELATED PROVI-
SIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 29 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘CHAPTER 30—ELECTRONIC MAIL
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘621. Definitions for chapter. 
‘‘622. Falsifying sender’s identity in commercial electronic mail 
‘‘623. Failure to place warning labels on commercial electronic mail containing 
sexually oriented material. 
‘‘624. Criminal penalties for violation of certain sections. 
‘‘625. Illicit harvesting of electronic mail addresses. 
‘‘626. Civil enforcement of chapter.
‘‘§ 621. Definitions for chapter 
‘‘In this chapter, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL MES-
SAGE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘commercial 
electronic mail message’ means any electronic 
mail message that contains a commercial adver-
tisement or promotion of a product or service. 
‘‘(B) REFERENCE TO COMPANY.—The in-
clusion of a reference to a commercial entity in 
an electronic mail message does not, by itself, 
constitute a commercial advertisement or pro-
motion of a product or service.
‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC MAIL MESSAGE.—The term 
‘electronic mail message’ means a message as trans-
mitted to an electronic mail address. 
‘‘(3) HEADER INFORMATION.—The term ‘head-
er information’ means the source, destination, and 
routing information attached to an electronic mail 
message, including the originating domain name and 
originating electronic mail address. 
‘‘(4) PROTECTED COMPUTER.—The term ‘pro-
tected computer’ means a computer described in sec-
tion 1030(e)(2)(B). 
‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other 
territory or possession of the United States.
‘‘§ 622. Falsifying sender’s identity in commercial 
electronic mail 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever intentionally sends to 
one or more covered computers, during any 30-day period, 
10 or more commercial electronic mail messages that the 
sender knows falsify the sender’s identity shall be pun-
ished as provided in section 624. 
‘‘(b) METHODS OF FALSIFYING IDENTITY.—For the 
purposes of subsection (a), an identity may be falsified by 
any means, and the following conduct shall be considered 
to be a falsification of identity:
‘‘(1) By accompanying the message with header 
information that is false as to the identity of the 
sender (including header information that uses a 
third party’s domain name without the third party’s 
permission) or as to the routing of the message. 
‘‘(2) By accessing a covered computer or com-
puter network without authorization or exceeding 
authorized access and, by means of such conduct, 
sending, from or through that computer or network, 
the message that falsifies the identity of the sender. 
‘‘(3) Registering, using information that fal-
sifies the identity of the registrant, for multiple elec-
tronic mail accounts or domain names, and sending 
the message from those accounts, or from or adver-
tising those domain names, but failing to include in 
a conspicuous form in the message the identity and 
current contact information of the sender. 
‘‘§ 623. Failure to place warning labels on commercial 
electronic mail containing sexually ori-
ented materials 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly sends a com-
mercial electronic mail message that includes sexually ori-
ented material to a covered computer and knowingly—
‘‘(1) fails to include in subject heading for the 
electronic mail message the marks or notices pre-
scribed by the Federal Trade Commission under sec-
tion 101(f)(2) of the Anti-Spam Act of 2003, or 
‘‘(2) fails to provide that the matter in that 
message that is initially viewable to the recipient, 
when that message is opened by any recipient and 
absent any further actions by the recipient, includes 
only—
‘‘(A) to the extent required or authorized 
pursuant to such section 101(f)(2), any such 
marks or notices, 
‘‘(B) the information required to be in-
cluded in the message pursuant to subpara-
graphs (B) and (C) of section 101(a)(1) of the 
Anti-Spam Act of 2003, and 
(C) instructions on how to access, or a 
mechanism to access, the sexually oriented ma-
terial, 
shall be punished as provided in section 624 of this chap-
ter. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘sexually 
oriented material’ means any material that depicts sexu-
ally explicit conduct (as that term is defined in section 
2256), unless the depiction constitutes a small and insig-
nificant part of the whole, the remainder of which is not 
primarily devoted to sexual matters.
‘‘§ 624. Criminal penalties for violation of certain sec-
tions 
‘‘(a) PUNISHMENT.—The punishment for an offense 
under section 622 or 623 is—
‘‘(1) for an offense—
‘‘(A) occurring after the defendant was 
convicted for another offense under this chap-
ter; or 
‘‘(B) involving 10,000 or more electronic 
mail messages sent within a 30-day period; 
a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more 
than 2 years, or both; and 
‘‘(2) in any other case, a fine under this title 
or imprisonment for not more than one year, or 
both. 
‘‘(b) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED BY SENTENCING 
COMMISSION.—In establishing sentencing guidelines for 
offenses to which this section applies, the United States 
Sentencing Commission shall consider the following fac-
tors: 
‘‘(1) The volume of commercial electronic mail 
involved in the violation. 
‘‘(2) The manner in which the violation was 
perpetrated. 
‘‘(3) Whether the violation involved a violation 
of any other Federal law.
‘‘(4) The extent of economic gain resulting from 
the violation. 
‘‘(5) Any history of prior violations by the viola-
tor. 
‘‘(6) Such other factors as justice may require. 
‘‘§ 625. Illicit harvesting of electronic mail addresses 
‘‘Whoever knowingly and through the direct or indi-
rect use of a covered computer uses an automated means 
to obtain electronic mail addresses from an Internet 
website or proprietary online service operated by another 
person, without the authorization of that person and uses 
those addresses in another violation of this chapter, shall 
be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one 
year, or both.
‘‘§ 626. Civil enforcement 
‘‘(a) CIVIL ACTION BY PROVIDERS.—A provider of 
Internet access service (as defined in section 231(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(4)) who 
is adversely affected by a violation of this chapter may, 
in a civil action, recover any appropriate relief, including 
actual damages or, at the election of the plaintiff, statu-
tory damages of $500 for each electronic mail message 
involved in the violation. 
‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT TOOLS FOR THE 
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—
‘‘(1) CIVIL
PENALTY.—The Attorney General 
may, in a civil action against any person for a viola-
tion of this chapter, recover a civil penalty of not to 
exceed $500 for each electronic mail message in-
volved in the violation. 
‘‘(2) INTERVENTION.—The Justice Department 
may also intervene in any civil action brought under 
subsection (a) or subsection (d). 
‘‘(c) REMEDIES UNDER THE FEDERAL TRADE COM-
MISSION ACT.—The same powers and authorities by which 
the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General 
enforce compliance, by persons subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Commission under the Federal Trade Commission 
Act, with the provisions of such Act and the regulations 
issued thereunder by the Commission, shall be available 
to the Commission and the Attorney General, respectively, 
for use against all persons who violate this chapter with 
respect to such violations. 
‘‘(d) STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.—Unless the At-
torney General or the Federal Trade Commission has com-
menced a criminal prosecution or civil proceedings under 
subsection (b) or (c) with respect to the same conduct, 
the chief law enforcement officer of a State may, in a civil 
action, obtain appropriate relief for a violation of this 
chapter, including statutory damages of $500 for each
electronic mail message sent to a covered computer in that 
State involved in that violation. 
‘‘(e) EXCLUSIVENESS OF REMEDIES.—The civil rem-
edies of this section are the exclusive civil remedies for 
violations of this chapter. 
‘‘(f) EXCLUSIVE ORIGINAL JURISDICTION IN FED-
ERAL COURTS.—The United States district courts shall 
have exclusive original jurisdiction over any civil action 
commenced under this section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 
at the beginning of part I of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 
29 the following new item:
‘‘30. Electronic mail ..........................................................................
621’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this title shall take effect 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this title.
TITLE III—GENERAL 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 301. REGULATIONS AND REPORT. 
(a) REGULATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Commission shall issue any regulations necessary to 
implement sections 101, 105, and 304. In issuing 
any such regulations, the Commission shall consult
with the Federal Communications Commission. Any 
such regulations shall be issued in accordance with 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 
(2) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (1) may not be 
construed to authorize the Commission to establish 
a requirement pursuant to section 101(a)(1)(A) to 
include any specific words, characters, marks, or la-
bels in a commercial electronic mail message, or to 
include the identification required by section 
101(a)(1)(A) in any particular part of such a mail 
message (such as the subject line or body). 
(b) REPORT REGARDING PREVENTING UNSOLICITED 
COMMERCIAL
ELECTRONIC
MAIL
MESSAGES.—Within 
240 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Commission, after consultation with the Federal Commu-
nications Commission, shall submit a report to the Con-
gress regarding the need to protect the rights of users of 
electronic mail to avoid receiving unsolicited commercial 
electronic mail. The report shall—
(1) analyze the effectiveness and efficiency, for 
preventing unsolicited commercial electronic mail 
messages, of requiring that each such message in-
clude specific words, characters, marks, or labels to 
identify the message as such a message;
(2) compare and evaluate alternative methods 
and procedures (individually or in combination with 
each other and the method described in paragraph 
(1)) for their effectiveness in protecting such rights 
and in terms of their cost and other advantages and 
disadvantages, including the extent to which such 
methods and procedures can facilitate screening and 
removal of unsolicited commercial electronic mail 
message; 
(3) compare and evaluate—
(A) alternative methods for persons ag-
grieved by receipt of unsolicited commercial 
electronic mail messages to report such receipt 
and submit such messages to the Commission; 
and 
(B) alternative means of notifying the pub-
lic of the availability of such methods; 
(4) evaluate whether there is a need—
(A) for additional Commission authority to 
further expand or restrict the electronic mail 
messages which are commercial, for purposes of 
this Act; or 
(B) to further expand or restrict the prohi-
bitions, limitations, definitions, or exceptions of 
this Act; and
(5) propose legislation to effectuate such spe-
cific expansions or restrictions, if a need for any ex-
pansions or restrictions is determined pursuant to 
paragraph (4). 
SEC. 302. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 
(a) FEDERAL LAW.—
(1) OBSCENITY AND EXPLOITATION OF CHIL-
DREN.—Nothing in this Act may be construed to im-
pair the enforcement of section 223 or 231 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223 or 
231, respectively), chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) 
or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of children) of 
title 18, United States Code, or any other Federal 
criminal statute. 
(2) COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.—Nothing 
in this Act may be construed to affect the applica-
bility of any provision of title II of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934. 
(b) STATE LAW.—This Act preempts any law of a 
State, or of a political subdivision of a State, that ex-
pressly regulates the form of, required inclusions in, the 
manner or timing of sending, or the form, manner, or ef-
fect of recipient requests regarding receipt of, commercial 
electronic mail, but such laws preempted shall not include 
any law regulating falsification in commercial electronic
mail of the identity of the sender, of authentication infor-
mation relating to the sender, of header or routing infor-
mation relating to such mail, or of subject line informa-
tion. 
(c) NO EFFECT ON POLICIES OF PROVIDERS OF 
INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.—Nothing in this Act shall 
be construed to have any effect on the lawfulness or un-
lawfulness, under any other provision of law, of the adop-
tion, implementation, or enforcement by a provider of 
Internet access service of a policy of declining to transmit, 
route, relay, handle, receive, or store certain types of elec-
tronic mail messages. 
SEC. 303. STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS AND ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission, 
after consultation with the Federal Communications Com-
mission, shall submit a report to the Congress that pro-
vides a detailed analysis of the effectiveness and enforce-
ment of the provisions, definitions, and exceptions of this 
Act and the need (if any) for the Congress to modify such 
provisions, definitions, and exceptions. 
(b) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—The report required by 
subsection (a) shall include an analysis of the extent to 
which technological and marketplace developments, includ-
ing changes in the nature of the devices through which
consumers access their electronic mail messages, may af-
fect the practicality and effectiveness of the provisions of 
this Act. 
SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means, 
with respect to an entity, any other entity that—
(A) controls, is controlled by, or is under 
common control with such entity; and 
(B) provides marketing information to, re-
ceives marketing information from, or shares 
marketing information with such entity. 
(2) BUSINESS DAY.—The term ‘‘business day’’ 
means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or 
legal public holiday. 
(3) COMMERCIAL
ELECTRONIC
MAIL
MES-
SAGE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘commercial elec-
tronic mail message’’ means any electronic mail 
message that contains a commercial advertise-
ment or promotion of a product or service, ex-
cept that such term does not include any com-
mercial transactional electronic mail message.
(B) REFERENCE TO COMPANY.—The inclu-
sion of a reference to a commercial entity in an 
electronic mail message does not, by itself, con-
stitute a commercial advertisement or pro-
motion of a product or service. 
(4) COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONAL ELECTRONIC 
MAIL
MESSAGE.—The term ‘‘commercial trans-
actional electronic mail message’’ means any elec-
tronic mail message the primary purpose of which 
is—
(A) to facilitate, complete, or confirm a 
specific commercial transaction, made with or 
without exchange of consideration, between the 
sender and the recipient that the recipient has 
previously agreed to enter into with the sender; 
or 
(B) to provide—
(i) a billing statement or information; 
(ii) debt collection information; 
(iii) product recall information; 
(iv) warranty information; 
(v) safety or security information; 
(vi) an actual update or modification 
to a product or service; or
(vii) information requested by the re-
cipient, 
relating to such specific commercial transaction 
or the product or service involved in the trans-
action. 
(5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Trade Commission. 
(6) COVERED AFFILIATE.—The term ‘‘covered 
affiliate’’ means, with respect to a commercial elec-
tronic mail message, any affiliate of the sender of 
such message to which such sender has previously 
sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise transferred or 
released the electronic mail address of the recipient. 
(7) COVERED COMPUTER.—The term ‘‘covered 
computer’’ means a computer that is used in or af-
fects interstate or foreign commerce or communica-
tion, including a computer located outside the 
United States that is used in a manner that affects 
interstate or foreign commerce of the United States. 
(8) DOMAIN NAME.—The term ‘‘domain name’’ 
means any alphanumeric designation which is reg-
istered with or assigned by any domain name reg-
istrar, domain name registry, or other domain name 
registration authority as part of an electronic ad-
dress on the Internet.
(9) ELECTRONIC MAIL ADDRESS.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘electronic 
mail address’’ means a destination (commonly 
expressed as a string of characters) to which 
electronic mail can be sent or delivered. 
(B) INCLUSION.—In the case of the Inter-
net, such term may include an electronic mail 
address consisting of a user name or mailbox 
(commonly referred to as the ‘‘local part’’) and 
a reference to an Internet domain (commonly 
referred to as the ‘‘domain part’’). 
(10) ELECTRONIC MAIL MESSAGE.—The term 
‘‘electronic mail message’’ means a message as 
transmitted to an electronic mail address. 
(11) HEADER INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘head-
er information’’ means the source, destination, and 
routing information attached to an electronic mail 
message, including the originating domain name and 
originating electronic mail address. 
(12) INITIATE.—The term ‘‘initiate’’, when 
used with respect to an electronic mail message, 
means to originate such message or to procure the 
origination of such message. 
(13) INITIATOR.—The term ‘‘initiator’’, when 
used with respect to an electronic mail message,
means the person who initiates such message. Such 
term does not include a provider of an Internet ac-
cess service, or any other person, whose role with re-
spect to the message is limited to the transmission, 
routing, relaying, handling, or storing, through an 
automatic technical process, of a message originated 
by others. 
(14) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘Internet’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 231(e)(3) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3)). 
(15) INTERNET
ACCESS
SERVICE.—The term 
‘‘Internet access service’’ has the meaning given that 
term in section 231(e)(4) of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(4)). 
(16) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘recipient’’, when 
used with respect to an electronic mail message, 
means the addressee of such message. If an ad-
dressee of an electronic mail message has one or 
more electronic mail addresses in addition to the ad-
dress to which the message was addressed, the ad-
dressee shall be treated as a separate recipient with 
respect to each such address. 
(17) SENDER.—The term ‘‘sender’’, when used 
with respect to an electronic mail message, means—
(A) the person—
(i) who is the initiator of such mes-
sage; and 
(ii) whose product, service, or Internet 
web site is advertised or promoted by the 
message; 
(B) such person’s successor in interest; or 
(C) any entity created by or on behalf of 
such person with the intent of avoiding the re-
quirements or prohibitions in section 101. 
SEC. 305. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Titles I and III of this Act, and 
the amendments made by such titles, shall take effect 120 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) EFFECT OF REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The au-
thority in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 
to issue regulations may not be construed to affect the 
effectiveness of any provision of this Act or the amend-
ments made by this Act under subsection (a) of this sec-
tion or section 201(c), except to the extent that a deter-
mination of the Commission is specifically required by 
such provision.
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