Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2004 13:02:22 -0500
From: Ethan Ackerman <eackerma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [IP] another spam query - a few pointers/corrections...
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Greetings Dave,
With the new "anti-spam" law in effect as of January 1, your list has
already had some questions about what exactly the law does and doesn't
cover, and unfortunately, you've already posted a not-really-correct
response. Hopefully this humble email can be a good example of the net
self-correcting errors.
-First, the law:
The full text of the legislation as passed can be accessed at
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.877:
(make sure the URL includes the final colon)
Think of this as the RFC or standards document - it should answer most
questions and is the actual "LAW" passed by congress and signed by the
president.
-To answer some of the earlier questions:
Contrary to what an earlier reply you posted suggested, Section 5(a)4 of the
new law explicitly prohibits (among other things)
selling/leasing/exchanging/giving an email address away if that recipient
has opted-out.
Rick's response probably accurately describes current (and - sigh - future)
spammer behavior, but as of Jan. 1 that behavior is illegal, and can land
the spammer in court, with fines, etc.
-Your 2nd question included 2 examples of a number of different possible
combinations of off-shore and US companies and where they ship to/from,
where they are based, where they send spam from/to, etc.
That question addresses the jurisdiction and scope of US law, and is a
thorny legal issue - one that can be refined much more than this, and I
suspect other attorneys could comment on further - BUT a simple explanation
I find useful is:
The law applies to anyone sending commercial email TO a U.S. recipient
AND/OR anyone sending spam originating FROM the U.S.
-Finally, there are several summaries of various versions of the CAN-SPAM
law on the web that also answer some of these types of questions, including:
http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_9.23.shtml
www.paulruschmann.com/research/spam/can_spam.pdf
http://www.politechbot.com/pipermail/politech/2003-October/000127.html
(The congressional research service at the Library of Congress also has a
summary, it can be clicked through to at the thomas.loc.gov site above.)
** These links, and my opinions above, are obviously opinions on legal
subjects. That is not, however, the same as legal advice, which I'm not
offering and this shouldn't be interpreted as.**
-Ethan Ackerman
(p.s. Happy New Year!)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf
Of Dave Farber
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 9:48 AM
To: Ip Ip
Subject: [IP] so let's try another spam query
Under the new law, I hire a German firm to send spam mail advertising my
products. They do not follow the law. Am I libel if:
1 I ship from the usa where I do business?
2 I ship from overseas even though I am a US business?
Dave