"Junk E-mail": An Overview of Issues and Legislation Concerning Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail ("Spam")

Smith, Marcia S.

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.

关键词: Technology;    Electronic mail systems - Law and legislation;    Telecommunication;   

RP-ID  :  RL31953
RP-ID  :  RL31953 2003-07-24

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), also called “spam” or “junk e-mail,” aggravates many computer users. Not only can spam be a nuisance, but its cost may be passed on to consumers through higher charges from Internet service providers who must upgrade their systems to handle the traffic. Also, some spam involvesfraud, or includes adult-oriented material that offends recipients or that parents want to protect their children from seeing. Proponents of UCE insist it is a legitimate marketing technique that is protected by the First Amendment. While 34 states have anti-spam laws, there is no federal law specifically concerning spam. Nine “antispam”bills are pending in the 108th Congress: H.R. 1933 (Lofgren), H.R. 2214 (Burr-Tauzin-Sensenbrenner), H.R. 2515 (Wilson), S. 563 (Dayton), S. 877 (Burns-Wyden), S. 1052 (Nelson-FL), S. 1231 (Schumer), S. 1293 (Hatch), and S. 1327 (Corzine). Tables providing brief “side-by-side” comparisons of the bills are included at the end of this report.