Maryland Introduces Anti-Spam Legislation

Maryland has become the first US state to draft an anti-spamming law intended to work in conjunction with the US federal CAN-SPAM Act that came into effect January 1, 2004. The Maryland Spam Deterrence Act (the Act) was passed by the Maryland legislature on April 12, 2004. It is now awaiting signature by the Governor to become law. The Act makes sending spam e-mails a criminal offence, and a contravention may bring penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines up to US$25,000. The Act even contemplates possible seizure of personal property from convicted spammers. The Governor of Maryland has until June 1, 2004 to sign, to veto or to allow the Act to become law without his signature. It has been reported that the Governor wants to first ensure that the bill will not harm legitimate businesses before agreeing to sign the Act into law. Similar state legislation intended to work with the Federal CAN-SPAM Act is currently being drafted in Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio. For a copy of the Maryland Spam Deterrence Act and updates on its status, visit: http://mlis.state.md.us/2004rs/billfile/hb1320.htm. For a copy of the US federal statue entitled Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 or the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, see: http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877enrolled.pdf. For more information about the Governor of Maryland, visit: http://www.gov.state.md.us/. Summary by: Sue Diaz