Representative Heather Wilson (R-NM) has reintroduced a bill that would tighten government controls over unsolicited commercial e-mail, also known as spam.
The Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act of 2001 (HB-718) is the same bill she sponsored in the 106th Congress. Although that measure, (HB-3113) was endorsed by the Direct Marketing Association and approved by the House, it died in the Senate when its then Commerce Committee failed to act on it.
The current legislation, like the previous bill, would require unsolicited commercial e-mail senders to include their correct street and e-mail address on their communications and label their unsolicited commercial e-mails as "spam."
It would also prohibit e-mailers from harvesting e-mail addresses from Internet registrars and make it a crime for them to continue sending unsolicited material to anyone asking to be removed from their distribution lists. The crime would be punishable by a prison term of up to 3 years and fines of up to $5,000 for each offense.
The legislation would authorize people on do-not-send lists to sue the individuals and companies that continue to send them unsolicited commercial e-mails for $500 for each unwanted, unauthorized communication.
At the same time they would face being sued by either the Federal Communications Commission or the Federal Trade Commission.
The measure would also require Internet service providers (ISPs) to develop and enforce policies designed to protect their customers from unsolicited commercial e-mails. ISPs could, under the legislation, sue violators for damages of $500 per incident.
