Update on Anti-Spam Legislation
Many families receive unwanted emails or "spam" that contain pornographic or other undesirable upsetting materials. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.
The law, which became effective January 1, 2004, covers email whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service, including content on a Web site. As of May 19, 2004, those who send spam that contains sexually oriented material must include the warning "SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT: " in the subject line or face fines for violations of federal law. The purpose of this warning is to inform recipients that a spam message contains sexually oriented material and to make it easier to filter out messages they do not wish to receive.
The Department of Justice enforces the criminal provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is also authorized to enforce the CAN-SPAM Act. Other federal and state agencies can enforce the law against organizations under their jurisdiction, and companies that provide internet access may sue violators, as well.
The FTC runs a helpful website on email spam at http://www.ftc.gov/spam. It also maintains a consumer complaint database of violations of the laws that the FTC enforces. Consumers can submit complaints online at http://www.ftc.gov and forward unwanted commercial email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.
Finally, parents can report the transmission of offensive materials to several places. They can send in a tip about the sending of obscene material to children by contacting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children http://www.ncmec.org/missingkids. They can also report the sending of any offensive, and possibly obscene or child pornographic materials, to their internet service provider.
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