Tough New California Anti-Spam Legislation Enacted

On September 17, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed new anti-spam legislation into law. In addition to an outright prohibition and criminalization of the sending of unsolicited e-mail, the new law also allows ISPs, the California Attorney General, and recipients of commercial spam e-mail to recover damages of up to $1,000 for each unsolicited e-mail that does not disclose valid e-mail contact address and the name and location of the sender. The Bill sets a hard line against spam, which costs ISPs and companies significant resources to route, sort and delete these unwanted emails. However, there remains the question of effective enforcement. It is difficult to track down the source of spam, as it can be sent from anywhere in the world with little technical impediment. The California legislation attempts to remedy this by permitting complainants to seek relief from the advertisers, not just the spammers. The hope is that this will force advertisers to look for other ways to market their products and services, and make spamming less profitable. For a news article on the legislation, see: http://makeashorterlink.com/?E3C552369. Summary by: James Kosa