Bush signs bill aimed at controlling spam

InfoWorld: Bush signs bill aimed at controlling spam:

By Stacy Cowley, IDG News Service

President George W. Bush signed a bill into law Tuesday establishing federal rules for commercial e-mail and penalties for unsolicited mass spamming.

Known as the CAN-SPAM Act, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 takes effect Jan. 1. The law prohibits the use of false header information in bulk commercial e-mail and requires unsolicited messages to include opt-out instructions. Penalties for violations include fines of up to US$250 per e-mail, capped at up to $6 million.

The bill's authors, Montana Republican Senator Conrad Burns and Oregon Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, praised the legislation as a powerful tool for countering the spam onslaught cluttering inboxes.

'Swift and aggressive enforcement will be essential, and Senator Burns and I will continue to push the Federal Trade Commission and others to use the tools this law gives them to fight against spam,' Wyden said in a written statement."