The California legislature has passed a tough new anti-spam bill. The bill gives law enforcement and consumers new ways to fight back against spammers. If signed into law, district attorneys would be able to prosecute spammers, consumers could sue them in the county the spam was received in, and using a spoofed or stolen email address to send spam would become illegal.

         ”You can sue the company that hired the spammer,” Wagner said. “Once you have put prosecution into the equation, it becomes a jail risk - that will be a big strengthening of the law,” said Joe Wagner, a Stanford University graduate student who worked on the bill with its creator, Assemblyman Jared Huffman.

The bill is on its way to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger but will not pass his desk until after a state budget is approved. Not surprisingly, the bill was opposed by advertising networks, which thrive on the efforts of the spammers they hire.