[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ``ANTI-SPAMMING ACT OF 2001''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 14, 2001

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, unsolicited commercial e-mail, such as 
advertisements, solicitations or chain letters, is the ``junk mail'' of 
the information age. When unwanted mail is hand delivered to your home 
or post office box, you can ask the postmaster not to deliver it. When 
telemarketers call you at home you may ask to be taken off their 
solicitation list. But currently, there is no mechanism to prevent 
unwanted e-mail.
  Jupiter Communications reported that in 1999 the average consumer 
received 40 pieces of spam. By 2005, Jupiter estimates, the total is 
likely to soar to 1,600. These numbers are truly astounding. 
Unsolicited e-mail messages burden consumers by slowing down their e-
mail connections, and cause big problems for the small business owner 
who is trying to compete with larger companies and larger servers.
  Consumers are not the only ones victimized by spam. In recent 
instances, unsolicited e-mail transmissions have paralyzed small 
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by flooding their servers with 
unwanted e-mail. This has the potential to do great damages to small 
ISP companies and the communities they serve.
  Currently, ISPs are developing programs that require the individual 
sending the unsolicited message to include a valid e-mail address, 
which can then be replied to in order to request that no further 
transmissions be sent. Under these programs, once the individual 
sending the original e-mail receives a request to remove an address 
from their distribution list, they are required to do so. However, 
offending spammers get around this requirement by using the e-mail 
address of an unsuspecting user to spam others.
  To address this problem, I am introducing legislation to give law 
enforcement the tools they need to prosecute individuals who send 
unsolicited e-mail that clog up consumers' in-boxes: the Anti-Spamming 
Act of 2001.
  The Anti-Spamming Act would amend 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030 (which 
addresses criminal fraud in connection with computers) in several 
respects to address fraudulent unsolicited electronic mail. It would 
add to the substantive conduct prohibited by 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030(a), 
both the intentional and unauthorized sending of unsolicited e-mail 
that is known by the sender to contain information that falsely 
identifies the source or routing information of the e-maill, and the 
intentional sale or distribution of any computer program designed to 
conceal the source or routing information of such e-mail.
  This legislation would subject those who commit such prohibited 
conduct to a criminal fine equal to $15,000 per violation or $10 per 
message per violation, whichever is greater, plus the actual monetary 
loss suffered by victims of the conduct. In addition, prohibited 
conduct that results in damage to a ``protected computer'' (as defined 
in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030(e)(2)) would be punishable by a fine under Title 
18 or by imprisonment for up to one year.
  I would also like to thank Representative Heather Wilson for her 
tireless efforts to address this issue. Representative Wilson should be 
commended for bringing the problem of spam to the forefront of public 
debate. I look forward to working with her to achieve our common goal 
of reducing the burden of unwanted e-mail on consumers and Internet 
Service Providers.
  Legislation addressing the problem of unsolicited commercial e-mail 
is greatly needed to protect consumers and Internet Service Providers 
from victimization by spam. I urge my colleagues to support this much 
needed legislation.

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