S-3265.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 6568
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 57th Legislature 2002 Regular Session
By Senators Finkbeiner, Benton, Gardner, Poulsen, T. Sheldon, Winsley, Oke, Hale and Rasmussen
Read first time 01/21/2002. Referred to Committee on Economic Development & Telecommunications.
AN ACT Relating to commercial electronic mail; and amending RCW 19.190.020 and 19.190.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 19.190.020 and 1999 c 289 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) No person may initiate the transmission, conspire with another to initiate the transmission, or assist the transmission, of a commercial electronic mail message from a computer located in Washington or to an electronic mail address that the sender knows, or has reason to know, is held by a Washington resident that:
(a) Uses a third
party's internet domain name without permission of the third party, or
otherwise misrepresents or obscures any information in identifying the point of
origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message; ((or))
(b) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line;
(c) Fails to include "ADV:" as the first four characters in the subject line; or
(d) Fails to prominently display in the body of the message the following identifying information: The legal name, mailing address, physical address, true electronic mail address, and telephone number, including area code, of the person initiating the transmission of the message.
(2) For purposes of this section, a person knows that the intended recipient of a commercial electronic mail message is a Washington resident if that information is available, upon request, from the registrant of the internet domain name contained in the recipient's electronic mail address.
Sec. 2. RCW 19.190.030 and 1999 c 289 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) It is a violation of the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW, to conspire with another person to initiate the transmission or to initiate the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message that:
(a) Uses a third
party's internet domain name without permission of the third party, or
otherwise misrepresents or obscures any information in identifying the point of
origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message; ((or))
(b) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line;
(c) Fails to include "ADV:" as the first four characters in the subject line; or
(d) Fails to prominently display in the body of the message the following identifying information: The legal name, mailing address, physical address, true electronic mail address, and telephone number, including area code, of the person initiating the transmission of the message.
(2) It is a violation of the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW, to assist in the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message, when the person providing the assistance knows, or consciously avoids knowing, that the initiator of the commercial electronic mail message is engaged, or intends to engage, in any act or practice that violates the consumer protection act.
(3) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of this chapter is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.
--- END ---