article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``E-Mail User Protection Act of 1998''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress makes the following findings: (1) The Internet has become a critical mode of global communication and now presents unprecedented opportunities for the development and growth of global commerce and an integrated worldwide economy. (2) The receipt of unsolicited commercial e-mail may result in undue monetary costs to recipients who cannot refuse to accept such mail and who incur costs for the storage of such mail, or for the time spent accessing, reviewing, and discarding such mail, or for both. (3) An increasing number of senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail purposefully disguise the source of such mail so as to prevent recipients from responding to such mail quickly and easily. (4) Because recipients of unsolicited commercial e-mail that does not provide a return address are unable to avoid the receipt of such mail through reasonable means, such mail may threaten the privacy of recipients. (5) By providing remedies similar to those provided with respect to unsolicited facsimile transmissions and automated dialing equipment in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, the Congress can provide privacy protections without infringing important Constitutional rights or imperiling the commercial development of the Internet. SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL. Part 1 of title II of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by inserting after section 230 (47 U.S.C. 230) the following new section: ``SEC. 231. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL. ``(a) Violations Directed at Interactive Computer Services.-- ``(1) For purposes of this subsection, a violation is defined as each initiation of a transmission without regard to the number of electronic mail addresses to which the transmission is sent. ``(2) It shall be a violation of this Act, punishable under subsection (c)(1), for any person-- ``(A) to intentionally initiate the transmission of an unsolicited commercial e-mail message from an unregistered or fictitious Internet domain, or an unregistered or fictitious electronic mail address, for the purpose of-- ``(i) preventing replies to such message through the use of standard reply mechanisms in the recipient's electronic mail system, or ``(ii) preventing receipt of standard notices of non-delivery; ``(B) to intentionally use or distribute a computer program or other technical mechanism or procedure intending to disguise the source of unsolicited commercial e-mail messages or to disable or circumvent a mail filtering tool; ``(C) to intentionally distribute, through computer software or in any other manner, a collection or list of electronic mail addresses knowing that the collection or list contains addresses of persons who have previously requested removal from the list; ``(D) to intentionally register, create, or cause to be created an Internet domain under false pretenses or to apply for, register, or otherwise obtain the use of an Internet electronic mail account for the sole or primary purpose of disguising the source of unsolicited electronic mail messages; ``(E) to direct an unsolicited commercial e-mail message through the server of an interactive computer service provider to one or more subscribers of the interactive computer service, knowing or having reason to know that such action is in contravention of the rules of the interactive computer service with respect to unsolicited commercial e-mail messages; ``(F) knowing or having reason to know that such action is in contravention of the rules of an interactive computer service, to access the server of such interactive computer service and to use a computer program to collect electronic mail addresses of subscribers of the interactive computer service for the purpose of sending such subscribers unsolicited commercial e-mail or selling or distributing the list thereby collected or obtained. ``(b) Violations Directed at Individuals.-- ``(1) For purposes of this subsection, a violation is defined as each electronic mail address which receives a transmission. ``(2) It shall be a violation of this Act, punishable under subsection (c)(2), for any person-- ``(A) to fail to comply with the request of the recipient of an electronic mail message, made to the sender or mailing list manager, as appropriate, to cease sending electronic messages to the recipient in the future; or ``(B) to initiate the transmission of an unsolicited commercial e-mail message to a recipient despite having been given prior notice (either directly or through a standard method developed, adopted, or modified by an Internet standard setting organization, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force, to better facilitate pre-emptive consumer control over unsolicited, commercial e-mail) that the recipient does not wish to receive such messages. ``(c) Liability for Violations.--Any person or entity who violates any provision of subsection (a) or (b) shall be liable to any injured party for such relief as is set out below. ``(1) Relief for interactive computer services.--In an action under this section for violation of subsection (a), relief may include-- ``(A) such preliminary and other equitable or declaratory relief as may be appropriate; ``(B) for actual monetary loss from a violation, statutory damages of not more than $10,000 for each violation, and, if the court finds that the defendant's actions were particularly egregious, willful, or knowing, the court may, in its discretion, increase the amount of an award to an amount equal to not more than 10 times the amount available hereunder, and ``(C) reasonable attorneys' fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. ``(2) Relief for individuals.-- ``(A) In an action under this section for violation of subsection (b), relief shall be sought in an action brought by the attorney general of one or more states. ``(B) Whenever the attorney general of a State, or an official or agency designated by a State, has reason to believe that any person has engaged or is engaging in a pattern or practice of transmitting unsolicited commercial e-mail to residents of that State in violation of this section or the regulations prescribed under this section, the State may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents for such relief as may be appropriate. ``(C) In an action under this subsection, appropriate relief includes-- ``(i) an injunction or such preliminary and other equitable or declaratory relief as may be appropriate; ``(ii) an action to recover statutory $500 in damages for each violation; or ``(iii) both such actions. ``(D) If the court finds the defendant's actions were particularly egregious, willful, or knowing, the court may, in its discretion, increase the amount of the award to an amount equal to not more than ten times the amount available in (C). ``(E) reasonable attorneys' fees and other litigation costs reasonably occurred. ``(d) State Law.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any State law that is consistent with this Act. No cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this Act. ``(e) Definitions.--In this Act: ``(1) Electronic mail address.-- ``(A) In general.--The term `electronic mail address' means a destination (commonly expressed as a string of characters) to which electronic mail can be sent or delivered. ``(B) Inclusion.--In the case of the Internet, the term `electronic mail address' may include an electronic mail address consisting of a user name of mailbox (commonly referred to as the `local part') and a reference to an Internet domain (commonly referred to as the `domain part'). ``(2) Initiates the transmission.--The term `initiates the transmission', in the case of an electronic mail message, refers to the action of the original sender of the message and not to any intervening computer service that may handle or retransmit the message, unless the intervening computer service retransmits the message with an intent to engage in activities prohibited by this Act. ``(3) Interactive computer service.--The term `interactive computer service' has the meaning given that term in section 230(c)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(e)(2)). ``(4) Internet.--The term `Internet' has the meaning given that term in section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)). ``(5) Internet domain.--The term `Internet domain' refers to a specific computer system (commonly referred to as a `host') or collection of computer systems attached to or able to be referenced from the Internet which are assigned a specific reference point on the Internet (commonly referred to as the `Internet domain name') and registered with an organization recognized by the computer industry as a registrant of Internet domains. ``(6) Mailing list.--The term `mailing list' refers to a computer program that provides electronic mailing list management functions, including functions that allow individuals to subscribe and unsubscribe to and from electronic mailing lists. ``(7) Mail filtering tool.--The term `mail filtering tool' means any computer program, procedure, or mechanism used by an individual recipient or interactive computer service to block, return, reroute, or otherwise screen or sort incoming electronic mail messages. ``(8) Servers.--The term `server' refers to any computer or program that provides support or services of any kind, including electronic mailboxes, to other computers. ``(9) Unsolicited commercial e-mail message.--The term `unsolicited commercial e-mail message' means any electronic mail other than-- ``(A) electronic mail sent by persons to recipients with whom they have a direct or indirect relationship, including a prior business relationship; or ``(B) mail sent by a source to a recipient where such recipient, or someone authorized by him, has at any time affirmatively requested communications from that source.''. SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. The provisions of this Act shall take effect 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
summary: E-Mail User Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any person from: (1) intentionally soliciting the transmission of unsolicited commercial e-mail from an unregistered or fictitious Internet domain or e-mail address in order to prevent reply through standard reply mechanisms; (2) intentionally using or distributing a computer program or other mechanism or procedure to disguise the source of unsolicited commercial e-mail; (3) intentionally distributing a collection or list of e-mail addresses knowing that persons on such list have previously requested removal from the list; (4) intentionally registering or creating an Internet e-mail account for the sole or primary purpose of disguising the source of unsolicited e-mail messages; (5) directing an unsolicited commercial e-mail message to subscribers of an interactive computer service (service), knowing such to be in contravention to the rules of such service with respect to unsolicited commercial e-mail messages; or (6) accessing the server of a service and using a computer program to collect e-mail addresses of service subscribers in order to send such subscribers unsolicited commercial e-mail or to sell or distribute a list of such subscribers. Considers each transmission received by an individual to be a separate violation for purposes of this Act. Provides appropriate relief for both individuals and service providers. Authorizes a State, through its Attorney General, to bring an action on behalf of its residents for appropriate relief.