SENDERS OF UNSOLICITED e-mail to New Jersey residents would be required by a new bill to label their solicitations as advertisements. The notice must, according to the measure recently introduced by Democratic Assemblywoman Barbara Buono, include the letters “ADV:” as the first four characters on the “subject line of each and every message” sent to residents in the state by all New Jersey-based companies. It would also require that solicitations to individuals over the age of 18 include “ADV:ADLT” as the first eight characters on the message’s subject line to help parents keep obscene or racy materials from being seen or read by children. In addition, e-mail senders would have to provide consumers with a way of stopping further unsolicited e-mail without cost. Violators face civil penalties of up to $500 for a first offense and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent violation. Buono, who is also a lawyer, told DIRECT that she proposed the legislation because of growing public concern about personal privacy and the fact that “New Jersey doesn’t have a law on its books addressing the onslaught of unsolicited e-mail…which needs to be regulated even though it provides an expedient form of advertising and communication. [It] interferes with our business and private lives [because of] the wealth of personal information that’s being accumulated on the Internet without the knowledge or permission of individuals.”
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