[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3113 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3113

 To protect individuals, families, and Internet service providers from 
               unsolicited and unwanted electronic mail.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 1999

Mrs. Wilson (for herself, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Baker, Mr. Barrett of 
Wisconsin, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Boucher, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. 
   Ehrlich, Mr. English, Mr. Gillmor, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. 
    Hastings of Washington, Mr. Klink, Mr. Luther, Ms. McCarthy of 
Missouri, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. Oxley, Mr. Rogan, Mr. Sandlin, Mr. Sawyer, 
 Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Strickland, and Mr. Stupak) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To protect individuals, families, and Internet service providers from 
               unsolicited and unwanted electronic mail.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Unsolicited Electronic Mail Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Children.--The term ``children'' includes natural 
        children, stepchildren, adopted children, and children who are 
        wards of or in custody of the parent, who have not attained the 
        age of 18 and who reside with the parent or are under his or 
        her care, custody, or supervision.
            (2) 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 or 
                mailbox (commonly referred to as the ``local part'') 
                and a reference to an Internet domain (commonly 
                referred to as the ``domain part'').
            (3) Interactive computer service.--The term ``interactive 
        computer service'' has the meaning given that term in section 
        230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        230(e)(2)).
            (4) Initiator.--The term ``initiator'' when used with 
        respect to an electronic mail message means the person who 
        initiated the transmission of such message, or caused the 
        initiation of the transmission of such message.
            (5) Internet.--The term ``Internet'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 230(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(e)(1)).
            (6) 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 that registers Internet domains.
            (7) Unsolicited commercial electronic mail message.--The 
        term ``unsolicited commercial electronic mail message'' means 
        any electronic mail message that advertises a product or 
        service for profit or for a business purpose that is sent to a 
        recipient with whom the initiator does not have an existing 
        business relationship.
            (8) Unsolicited pandering electronic mail message.--The 
        term ``unsolicited pandering electronic mail message'' means 
        any electronic mail message which the recipient, in his or her 
        sole discretion, believes to be erotically arousing or sexually 
        provocative that is sent to a recipient with whom the initiator 
        does not have an existing consensual relationship or has been 
        sent by the initiator without the express consent of the 
        recipient.

 SEC. 3. FINDINGS; POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that:
            (1) There is a right of free speech on the Internet.
            (2) The Internet has increasingly 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. In order for global 
        commerce on the Internet to reach its full potential, 
        individuals and entities using the Internet and other online 
        services should be prevented from engaging in activities that 
        prevent other users and Internet service providers from having 
        a reasonably predictable, efficient, and economical online 
        experience.
            (3) Unsolicited commercial electronic mail can be an 
        important mechanism through which businesses advertise and 
        attract customers in the online environment.
            (4) The receipt of unsolicited commercial electronic mail 
        may result in 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.
            (5) Unsolicited commercial electronic mail may impose 
        significant monetary costs on interactive computer services, 
        businesses, and educational and nonprofit institutions that 
        carry and receive such mail, as there is a finite volume of 
        mail that such providers, businesses, and institutions can 
        handle without further investment. The sending of such mail is 
        increasingly and negatively affecting the quality of service 
        provided to customers of interactive computer service, and 
        shifting costs from the sender of the advertisement to the 
        interactive computer service.
            (6) While some senders of unsolicited commercial electronic 
        mail provide simple and reliable ways for recipients to reject 
        (or ``opt-out'' of) receipt of unsolicited commercial 
        electronic mail from such senders in the future, other senders 
        provide no such ``opt-out'' mechanism, or refuse to honor the 
        requests of recipients not to receive electronic mail from such 
        senders in the future, or both.
            (7) An increasing number of senders of unsolicited 
        commercial electronic mail and unsolicited pandering electronic 
        mail purposefully disguise the source of such mail so as to 
prevent recipients from responding to such mail quickly and easily.
            (8) Many senders of unsolicited commercial electronic mail 
        and unsolicited pandering electronic mail collect or harvest 
        electronic mail addresses of potential recipients without the 
        knowledge of those recipients and in violation of the rules or 
        terms of service of the database from which such addresses are 
        collected.
            (9) Because recipients of unsolicited commercial electronic 
        mail and unsolicited pandering electronic mail are unable to 
        avoid the receipt of such mail through reasonable means, such 
        mail may invade the privacy of recipients.
            (10) In legislating against certain abuses on the Internet, 
        Congress should be very careful to avoid infringing in any way 
        upon constitutionally protected rights, including the rights of 
        assembly, free speech, and privacy.
    (b) Congressional Determination of Public Policy.--On the basis of 
the findings in subsection (a), the Congress determines that--
            (1) there is substantial government interest in regulation 
        of unsolicited commercial electronic mail and unsolicited 
        pandering electronic mail;
            (2) interactive computer services should not be compelled 
        to bear the costs of unsolicited commercial electronic mail and 
        unsolicited pandering electronic mail without compensation from 
        the sender; and
            (3) recipients of unsolicited commercial electronic mail 
        and unsolicited pandering electronic mail have a right to 
        decline to receive or have their children receive unsolicited 
        commercial electronic mail and unsolicited pandering electronic 
        mail.

 SEC. 4. PROTECTIONS AGAINST UNSOLICITED ELECTRONIC MAIL.

    (a) Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Opt-Out List.--
            (1) Self-listing; maintenance of list.--Any person, on his 
        or her own behalf or on the behalf of any of his or her 
        children, may file with the Federal Communication Commission a 
        statement, in such form and manner as the Federal Communication 
        Commission may prescribe, that he or she desires to receive no 
        unsolicited commercial electronic mail, unsolicited pandering 
        electronic mail, or both. The Federal Communication Commission, 
        insofar as practicable--
                    (A) shall maintain and keep current, or shall by 
                contract provide for the maintenance and currency of, 
                lists of the names and electronic mail addresses of 
                persons filing such statements; and
                    (B) shall (directly or by such contract) make the 
                lists (including portions thereof or changes therein) 
                available to any person, upon such reasonable terms and 
                conditions as the Commission may prescribe, including 
                the payment of such service charge as it determines to 
                be necessary to defray the cost of compiling and 
                maintaining the list and making it available in 
                accordance with this paragraph.
            (2) Transmissions to listed persons prohibited.--No person 
        shall initiate the transmission or cause to be initiated the 
        transmission of any unsolicited commercial electronic mail or 
        any unsolicited pandering electronic mail to any individual 
        whose name and electronic mail address has been on such list 
        for more than 30 days.
            (3) Other uses of list prohibited.--No person shall sell, 
        lease, lend, exchange, or license the use of, or, except for 
        the purpose expressly authorized by this section, use any 
        mailing list compiled in whole or in part from the list 
        maintained by the Federal Communication Commission pursuant to 
        paragraph (1).
    (b) Protections Against Unsolicited Electronic Mail.--
            (1) Return addresses required.--It shall be unlawful for 
        any person within the United States to initiate the 
        transmission of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail 
        message or an unsolicited pandering electronic mail message 
        unless such message contains a reply electronic mail address, 
        conspicuously displayed, to which a recipient may send a reply 
        to indicate a desire not to receive any further messages.
            (2) Transmissions after objection subject to order.--
        Whoever, following a request by a recipient to the initiator to 
        be removed from all distribution lists, directly or by any 
        agent or assign, initiates the transmission or causes to be 
        initiated the transmission of any unsolicited commercial 
        electronic mail or unsolicited pandering electronic mail, or 
        who violates paragraph (1), shall be subject to an order of the 
        Federal Communication Commission to refrain from further 
        mailings of such materials to designated addresses of the 
        recipient.
            (3) Issuance of orders.--Upon receipt of notice from a 
        recipient that he or she has received a transmission that is 
        determined by the recipient to violate paragraph (1) or (2), 
        the Federal Communication Commission shall issue an order, if 
        requested by the recipient, to the initiator thereof directing 
        the initiator and his or her agents or assigns to refrain from 
        further transmissions to the named recipient.
            (4) Coverage of minor children by orders.--Upon request of 
        any recipient, the order of the Federal Communication 
        Commission shall include the names and electronic mail 
        addresses of any of the children of the recipient.
            (5) Prohibitions contained in orders.--The order of the 
        Federal Communication Commission shall expressly prohibit the 
        initiator and his agents or assigns from making any further 
        transmissions of unsolicited commercial electronic mail or 
        unsolicited pandering electronic mail (as applicable) to the 
        designated recipients, effective on the 30th calendar day after 
        receipt of the order. The order shall also direct the initiator 
        and his or her agents or assigns to delete immediately the 
        names and electronic mail addresses of the designated 
        recipients from all mailing lists owned or controlled by the 
initiator or his or her agents or assigns and shall prohibit the 
initiator and his or her agents or assigns from the sale, lease, 
exchange, license, or other transaction involving mailing lists bearing 
the names and electronic mail addresses of the designated recipients.

 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Private Right of Action.--
            (1) Actions authorized.--A person may, if otherwise 
        permitted by the laws or rules of court of a State, bring in an 
        appropriate court of that State either or both of the following 
        actions:
                    (A) An action based on a violation of section 4 or 
                the regulations prescribed therein to enjoin such 
                violation.
                    (B) An action to recover for actual monetary loss 
                from such a violation in an amount equal to the 
                greatest of--
                            (i) the amount of such actual monetary 
                        loss;
                            (ii) $500 for each such violation; or
                            (iii) $25,000 per day for each day such 
                        violation continues.
            (2) Additional remedies.--If the court finds that the 
        defendant willfully or knowingly violated an order given under 
        or the regulations prescribed under section 4, the court may, 
        in its discretion, increase the amount of the award to an 
        amount equal to not more than three times the amount available 
        under paragraph (1).
    (b) Governmental Order.--
            (1) Enforcement of orders.--Whenever the Federal 
        Communication Commission believes that the initiator or anyone 
        acting on his behalf has violated or is violating an order 
        given under or the regulations prescribed under section 4, it 
        shall serve upon the initiator, by registered or certified 
        mail, a complaint stating the reasons for its belief and 
        request that any response thereto be filed in writing with the 
        Federal Communication Commission within 15 days after the date 
        of such service. If the Federal Communication Commission, after 
        appropriate hearing if requested by the initiator, and without 
        a hearing if such a hearing is not requested, thereafter 
        determines that the order given has been or is being violated, 
        it is authorized to request the Attorney General to make 
        application, and the Attorney General is authorized to make 
        application, to a district court of the United States for an 
        order directing compliance with such notice.
            (2) Presumption.--Receipt of any transmission in violation 
        of an order under section 4 30 days or more after the effective 
        date of the order shall create a rebuttable presumption that 
        such transmission was sent after such effective date.
            (3) Remedies.--Any district court of the United States 
        within the jurisdiction of which any transmission shall have 
        been sent or received in violation of an order given under or 
        the regulations prescribed under section 4 shall have 
        jurisdiction, upon application by the Attorney General, to 
        issue an order commanding compliance with such notice. Failure 
        to observe such order may be punishable by the court as 
        contempt thereof.

SEC. 6. INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE POLICIES REGARDING UNSOLICITED 
              COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL RESPECTED.

    (a) Interactive Computer Service Policies Permitted.--An 
interactive computer service is permitted to establish and enforce 
policies that are nondiscriminatory on the basis of content regarding 
unsolicited commercial electronic mail.
    (b) Uncompensated Transmission Not Required.--An interactive 
computer service may decline to transmit unsolicited commercial 
electronic mail messages to its subscribers without compensation from 
the sender of the unsolicited commercial electronic mail.
    (c) Notice of Violation Required.--Upon receipt of unsolicited 
electronic mail in violation of a publicly-available policy in 
compliance with subsection (a), an interactive computer service shall 
notify the violator of the policy in writing and request compliance. 
Such notification shall include the text of the policy or an 
appropriate reference to the publicly-available location of the policy.
    (d) Transmissions After Objection Subject to Order.--Whoever, 14 
days after the date of notification prescribed in subsection (b), 
directly or by any agent or assign, initiates the transmission or 
causes to be initiated the transmission of any unsolicited commercial 
electronic mail message in violation of a policy permitted by 
subsection (a) shall be subject to an order of the Federal 
Communication Commission to refrain from further transmissions to the 
interactive computer service.
    (e) Issuance of Orders.--Upon receipt of notice from an interactive 
computer service that it has received a transmission that is determined 
by the interactive computer service to be in violation of a policy as 
described in subsection (a), the Federal Communication Commission shall 
issue an order, if requested by the interactive computer service, to 
the initiator thereof, directing the initiator and his or her agents or 
assigns to refrain from further transmissions to the interactive 
computer service.
    (f) Prohibitions Contained in Orders.--The order of the Federal 
Communication Commission shall expressly prohibit the initiator and his 
agents or assigns from making any further transmissions to the 
interactive computer service, effective on the 30th calendar day after 
receipt of the order. The order shall also direct the initiator and his 
or her agents or assigns to delete immediately the names and electronic 
mail addresses of any designated recipients from all mailing lists 
owned or controlled by the initiator or his or her agents or assigns 
and shall prohibit the initiator and his or her agents or assigns from 
the sale, lease, exchange, license, or other transaction involving 
mailing lists bearing the names or electronic mail addresses of the 
designated recipients.
    (g) Enforcement.--
            (1) Private right of action.--
                    (A) Actions authorized.--An interactive computer 
                service may, if otherwise permitted by the laws or 
                rules of court of a State, bring in an appropriate 
court of that State either or both of the following actions:
                            (i) An action based on a violation of the 
                        order given under this section or the 
                        regulations prescribed under this section to 
                        enjoin such violation.
                            (ii) An action to recover for actual 
                        monetary loss from such a violation in an 
                        amount equal to the greatest of--
                                    (I) the amount of such actual 
                                monetary loss;
                                    (II) $500 for each such violation; 
                                or
                                    (III) $25,000 per day for each day 
                                such violation continues.
                    (B) Additional remedies.--If the court finds that 
                the defendant willfully or knowingly violated the order 
                given under or the regulations prescribed under this 
                subsection, the court may, in its discretion, increase 
                the amount of the award to an amount equal to not more 
                than three times the amount available under 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) Governmental order.--
                    (A) Enforcement of orders.--Whenever the Federal 
                Communication Commission believes that the initiator or 
                anyone acting on his behalf has violated or is 
                violating the order given under this section, it shall 
                serve upon the initiator, by registered or certified 
                mail, a complaint stating the reasons for its belief 
                and request that any response thereto be filed in 
                writing with the Federal Communication Commission 
                within 15 days after the date of such service. If the 
                Federal Communication Commission, after appropriate 
                hearing if requested by the initiator, and without a 
                hearing if such a hearing is not requested, thereafter 
                determines that the order given has been or is being 
                violated, it is authorized to request the Attorney 
                General to make application, and the Attorney General 
                is authorized to make application, to a district court 
                of the United States for an order directing compliance 
                with such notice.
                    (B) Presumption.--Receipt of any transmission in 
                violation of an order under this section 30 days or 
                more after the effective date of the order shall create 
                a rebuttable presumption that such transmission was 
                sent after such effective date.
                    (C) Remedies.--Any district court of the United 
                States within the jurisdiction of which any 
                transmission shall have been sent or received in 
                violation of the order provided for by this section 
                shall have jurisdiction, upon application by the 
                Attorney General, to issue an order commanding 
                compliance with such notice. Failure to observe such 
                order may be punishable by the court as contempt 
                thereof.

SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

    (a) No Effect on Criminal Law.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 or 231 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 
(relating to sexual exploitation of children) of title 18, United 
States Code, or any other Federal criminal statute.
    (b) State Law.--This Act is in addition to and not in lieu of any 
other provision of State law relating to the transmission of electronic 
mail messages. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent any 
State from enacting or enforcing any such State law.

SEC. 8. FEDERAL COMMUNICATION COMMISSION STUDY INTO EFFECTS OF 
              UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Federal Communication Commission shall submit to Congress a report 
detailing the effectiveness of, enforcement of, and the need, if any, 
for Congress to modify the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This provisions of this Act shall take effect 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
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