U. S. Presidential Candidates’ State Spam Legislation

Some or all provisions of some individual state laws may be preempted by the United States federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, including provisions regarding a private right of action.  Although not part of any platforms with the upcoming United States election, how does each of the presidential candidates’ individual state fare with spam legislation? Only the highlights of the state spam laws are presented.

Barrack Obama – Illinois
Running mate for Vice President: Joe Biden
(815 ILCS 511/10)
Sec. 10. Unsolicited or misleading electronic mail; prohibition.
(a) No individual or entity may initiate or cause to be initiated an unsolicited electronic mail advertisement if the electronic mail advertisement (i) uses a third party’s Internet domain name without permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of an electronic mail advertisement or (ii) contains false or misleading information in the subject line.

(b) This Section applies when the unsolicited electronic mail advertisement is delivered to an Illinois resident via an electronic mail service provider’s service or equipment located in this State.
(c) Any person, other than an electronic mail service provider, who suffers actual damages as a result of a violation of this Section committed by any individual or entity may bring an action against such individual or entity. The injured person may recover attorney’s fees and costs, and may elect, in lieu of recovery of actual damages, to recover the lesser of $10 for each and every unsolicited electronic mail advertisement transmitted in violation of this Section, or $25,000 per day. The injured person shall not have a cause of action against the electronic mail service provider that merely transmits the unsolicited electronic mail advertisement over its computer network.
(d) Any electronic mail service provider who suffers actual damages as a result of a violation of this Section committed by any individual or entity may bring an action against such individual or entity. The injured person may recover attorney’s fees and costs, and may elect, in lieu of recovery of actual damages, to recover the lesser of $10 for each and every unsolicited electronic mail advertisement transmitted in violation of this Section, or $25,000 per day.

John McCain – Arizona
Running mate for Vice President: Sarah Palin
44-1372.01. Regulations; powers of attorney general; cumulative remedies; applicability

A. A person shall not knowingly transmit commercial electronic mail if any of the following apply:

1. The person falsifies electronic mail transmission information or other routing information for unsolicited commercial electronic mail.

2. The mail contains false or misleading information in the subject line.

3. The person uses a third party’s internet address or domain name without the third party’s consent for the purpose of transmitting electronic mail in a way that makes it appear that the third party was the sender of the mail.

B. If a person sends unsolicited commercial electronic mail or maintains a database for the purpose of sending unsolicited commercial electronic mail, the person shall do the following:

C. Failure to comply with this article is an unlawful practice pursuant to section 44-1522. The attorney general may investigate and take appropriate action as prescribed by chapter 10, article 7 of this title.

D. This article is in addition to all other causes of action, remedies and penalties available to this state.