Federal Anti-Spam Act Imposes Uniform Requirements On Commercial E-Mails

Originally published in the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel-February 2004

As of January 1, 2004, federal antispam legislation, referred to as the CANSPAM Act ("the Act"), has preempted state laws seeking to regulate unsolicited, "commercial e-mails" (as defined in the Act). The CAN-SPAM Act, short for "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act," seeks to balance the free speech and commercial interests of the senders of unsolicited emails or "spammers," on the one hand, with the rights of the citizenry and internet service providers to be free of what has become an "assault" on e-mail accounts, on the other hand. Many users are familiar with unsolicited e-mail messages ranging from pleas of deposed dictators to offers of medications, adult-themed products and services, and mortgages. It is not surprising that one of the "findings" of the Act reads as follows: "The convenience and efficiency of electronic mail are threatened by the extremely rapid growth in