Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research	BILL ANALYSIS
Technology, Telecommunications & Energy Committee

ESSB 6568

Brief Description:  Requiring the sender of commercial electronic mail to identify itself as a commercial message.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Economic Development & Telecommunications (originally sponsored by Senators Finkbeiner, Benton, Gardner, Poulsen, T. Sheldon, Winsley, Oke, Hale and Rasmussen).

Brief Summary of Engrossed Substitute Bill

$Requires the sender of a commercial electronic mail message to include "ADV:" in the first four characters of the subject line and makes a violation of this provision a violation of the Consumer Protection Act.

Hearing Date:  2/28/02

Staff:  Pam Madson (786‑7166).

Background:

In 1998 legislation was enacted regulating commercial electronic mail messages.  A commercial electronic mail message is one sent for the purpose of promoting real property, goods, or services for sale or lease.

It is a violation of the Consumer Protection Act to initiate or assist in initiating a commercial electronic mail message that is deceptive or misleading from a computer located in Washington or to an electronic mail address that the sender knows is held by a Washington resident.  A deceptive or misleading message is one that (1) uses a third party's Internet domain name without permission of the third party, (2) misrepresents any information in identifying the point of origin or transmission path of the message; or (3) puts false or misleading information in the subject line of the message.

A sender is responsible for knowing that a recipient 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.

A recipient may bring a civil action against a sender who violates the laws relating to commercial electronic mail messages.  The penalty is the greater of $500 or actual damages incurred.  A violation of laws relating to commercial electronic mail messages is also a violation of the Consumer Protection Act and may be enforced by the Attorney General.  A violation of the Consumer Protection Act may result in a civil fine, treble damages, court costs and attorneys' fees.

Summary of Bill:

A person sending or assisting in sending a commercial electronic mail message from a computer in Washington or to a recipient who is a Washington resident must include "ADV:" in the first four characters of the subject line.

An exemption to this requirement is a message sent to a person with whom the sender has a current or prior business relationship.  A current or prior business relationship is evidenced by a clear indication that the recipient is willing to receive electronic mail messages from the sender.  A business relationship is also evidenced if the message concerns a recent purchase by the recipient from the sender or the recipient has an on‑going contract with the sender and the message relates to the contract.

A violation of this provision is a violation of the Consumer Protection Act and subjects the sender to penalties under the Consumer Protection Act and to damages for violation of laws governing commercial electronic mail messages.

On‑line directories are included as sources that may be used to determine whether a recipient is a resident of Washington.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.