BILL REQ. #:  S-3578.3 

Read first time 01/14/2004.   Referred to Committee on Technology & Communications.

     AN ACT Relating to filter services provided by electronic mail service providers; amending RCW 19.190.010; and adding a new section to chapter 19.190 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 19.190 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) An electronic mail service provider shall, upon request by the customer, employ the use of filtering software to block the transmission of commercial electronic mail messages to that customer.
     (2) No electronic mail service provider may be held liable for any action taken in good faith to block the receipt through its service of any commercial electronic mail.
     (3) An electronic mail service provider who fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter shall be liable to the customer for any actual damages sustained by the person as a result of the failure. Nothing in this section limits any cause of action or remedy available under chapter 19.86 RCW.

Sec. 2   RCW 19.190.010 and 2003 c 137 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Assist the transmission" means actions taken by a person to provide substantial assistance or support which enables any person to formulate, compose, send, originate, initiate, or transmit a commercial electronic mail message or a commercial electronic text message when the person providing the assistance knows or consciously avoids knowing that the initiator of the commercial electronic mail message or the commercial electronic text message is engaged, or intends to engage, in any practice that violates the consumer protection act.
     (2) "Commercial electronic mail message" means an electronic mail message sent for the purpose of promoting real property, goods, or services for sale or lease. It does not mean an electronic mail message to which an interactive computer service provider has attached an advertisement in exchange for free use of an electronic mail account, when the sender has agreed to such an arrangement.
     (3) "Commercial electronic text message" means an electronic text message sent to promote real property, goods, or services for sale or lease.
     (4) "Electronic mail address" means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, to which electronic mail may be sent or delivered.
     (5) "Electronic text message" means a text message sent to a cellular telephone or pager equipped with short message service or any similar capability, whether the message is initiated as a short message service message or as an electronic mail message.
     (6) "Initiate the transmission" refers to the action by the original sender of an electronic mail message or an electronic text message, not to the action by any intervening interactive computer service or wireless network that may handle or retransmit the message, unless such intervening interactive computer service assists in the transmission of an electronic mail message when it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, that the person initiating the transmission is engaged, or intends to engage, in any act or practice that violates the consumer protection act.
     (7) "Interactive computer service" means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.
     (8) "Internet domain name" refers to a globally unique, hierarchical reference to an internet host or service, assigned through centralized internet naming authorities, comprising a series of character strings separated by periods, with the right-most string specifying the top of the hierarchy.
     (9) "Person" means a person, corporation, partnership, or association.
     (10) "Filtering software" means any software program used by an electronic mail service provider and designed to block the receipt or transmission of unsolicited bulk commercial electronic mail messages.
     (11) "Electronic mail service provider" means any business or organization that provides registered users the ability to send or receive electronic mail and is an intermediary in sending or receiving electronic mail.