Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 3114 (ih) To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise the update factor used in making payments to PPS hospitals under the Medicare Program. [Introduced in House] ...H.R. 3114 (ih) To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise the update factor used in making payments to PPS hospitals under the Medicare Program. [Introduced in House] ...
Union Calendar No. 394
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3113
[Report No. 106-700]
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
June 26, 2000
Additional sponsors: Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Barton of
Texas, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Tauzin, Mr. Largent, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Gary
Miller of California, Mr. Holt, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Aderholt,
Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Weller, Mr. Moore, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Wolf, Mr.
Gejdenson, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Frost, Ms. Carson, Mr. Burr of North
Carolina, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Schaffer
June 26, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October
20, 1999]
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Commercial Electronic
Mail Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND POLICY.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(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 Internet access 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 Internet access service, and shifting
costs from the sender of the advertisement to the Internet
access service.
(6) While some senders of unsolicited commercial electronic
mail messages 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 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
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 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;
(2) Internet service providers should not be compelled to
bear the costs of unsolicited commercial electronic mail
without compensation from the sender; and
(3) recipients of unsolicited commercial electronic mail
have a right to decline to receive or have their children
receive unsolicited commercial electronic mail.
SEC. 3. 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) Commercial electronic mail message.--The term
``commercial electronic mail message'' means any electronic
mail message that primarily advertises or promotes the
commercial availability of a product or service for profit or
invites the recipient to view content on an Internet web site
that is operated for a commercial purpose. An electronic mail
message shall not be considered to be a commercial electronic
mail message solely because such message includes a reference
to a commercial entity that serves to identify the initiator.
(3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(4) Domain name.--The term ``domain name'' means any
alphanumeric designation which is registered with or assigned
by any domain name registrar, domain name registry, or other
domain name registration authority as part of an electronic
address on the Internet.
(5) 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'').
(6) Internet.--The term ``Internet'' has the meaning given
that term in section 231(e)(3) of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3)).
(7) Internet access service.--The term ``Internet access
service'' has the meaning given that term in section 231(e)(4)
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(4)).
(8) Initiate.--The term ``initiate'', when used with
respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means to
originate such message or to procure the transmission of such
message.
(9) Initiator.--The term ``initiator'', when used with
respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means the
person who initiates such message. Such term does not include a
provider of an Internet access service whose role is limited to
handling, transmitting, or retransmitting the message.
(10) Pre-existing business relationship.--The term ``pre-
existing business relationship'' means, when used with respect
to the initiator and recipient of a commercial electronic mail
message, that either of the following circumstances exist:
(A) Previous business transaction.--
(i) Within the 5-year period ending upon
receipt of such message, there has been a
business transaction between the initiator and
the recipient (including a transaction
involving the provision, free of charge, of
information requested by the recipient, of
goods, or of services); and
(ii) the recipient was, at the time of such
transaction or thereafter, provided a clear and
conspicuous notice of an opportunity not to
receive further messages from the initiator and
has not exercised such opportunity.
(B) Opt in.--The recipient has given the initiator
permission to initiate commercial electronic mail
messages to the electronic mail address of the
recipient and has not subsequently revoked such
permission.
(11) Recipient.--The term ``recipient'', when used with
respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means the
addressee of such message.
(12) Unsolicited commercial electronic mail message.--The
term ``unsolicited commercial electronic mail message'' means
any commercial electronic mail message that is sent by the
initiator to a recipient with whom the initiator does not have
a pre-existing business relationship.
SEC. 4. PROTECTIONS AGAINST UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL.
(a) Requirements for Transmission of Messages.--
(1) Inclusion of return address.--It shall be unlawful for
any person to initiate the transmission of an unsolicited
commercial electronic mail message to any person within the
United States unless such message contains a valid electronic
mail address, conspicuously displayed, to which a recipient may
send a reply to the initiator to indicate a desire not to
receive any further messages.
(2) Prohibition of transmission after objection.--If a
recipient makes a request to a person to be removed from all
distribution lists under the control of such person, it shall
be unlawful for such person to initiate the transmission of an
unsolicited commercial electronic mail message to such a
recipient within the United States after the expiration, after
receipt of such request, of a reasonable period of time for
removal from such lists. Such a request shall be deemed to
terminate a pre-existing business relationship for purposes of
determining whether subsequent messages are unsolicited
commercial electronic mail messages.
(3) Accurate routing information.--It shall be unlawful for
any person who initiates the transmission of any unsolicited
commercial electronic mail message to any person within the
United States to take any action that causes any Internet
routing information contained in or accompanying such message--
(A) to be inaccurate;
(B) to be invalid according to the prevailing
standards for Internet protocols; or
(C) to fail to accurately reflect the routing of
such message.
(4) Inclusion of identifier and opt-out.--It shall be
unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission of any
unsolicited commercial electronic mail message to any person
within the United States unless the message provides, in a
manner that is clear and conspicuous to the recipient--
(A) identification that the message is an
unsolicited commercial electronic mail message; and
(B) notice of the opportunity under paragraph (2)
not to receive further unsolicited commercial
electronic mail messages from the initiator.
(b) Enforcement of Policies by Internet Access Service Providers.--
(1) Authority to establish policies.--A provider of
Internet access service may enforce a policy regarding
unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages, but only if
such policy complies with the requirements of paragraph (3).
(2) Prohibition of transmissions in violation of posted
policy.--It shall be unlawful for any person to initiate the
transmission of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail
message to any person within the United States in violation of
a policy governing the use of the equipment of a provider of
Internet access service for transmission of unsolicited
commercial electronic mail messages that meets the requirements
of paragraph (3).
(3) Requirements for enforceability.--The requirements
under this paragraph for a policy regarding unsolicited
commercial electronic mail messages are as follows:
(A) Clarity.--The policy shall explicitly provide
that compliance with a rule or set of rules is a
condition of use of the equipment of a provider of
Internet access service to deliver commercial
electronic mail messages.
(B) Public availability.--The policy shall be
publicly available by at least one of the following
methods:
(i) Web posting.--The policy is clearly and
conspicuously posted on a World Wide Web site
of the provider of Internet access service,
which has an Internet domain name that is
identical to the Internet domain name of the
electronic mail address to which the rule or
set of rules applies.
(ii) Notification in compliance with
technological standard.--Such policy is made
publicly available by the provider of Internet
access service in accordance with a
technological standard adopted by an
appropriate Internet standards setting body
(such as the Internet Engineering Task Force)
and recognized by the Commission by rule as a
fair standard.
(C) Internal opt-out list.--If the policy of a
provider of Internet access service requires
compensation specifically for the transmission of
unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages into
Other Popular 106th Congressional Bills Documents:
|
| GovRecords.org presents information on various agencies of the United States Government. Even though all information is believed to be credible and accurate, no guarantees are made on the complete accuracy of our government records archive. Care should be taken to verify the information presented by responsible parties. Please see our reference page for congressional, presidential, and judicial branch contact information. GovRecords.org values visitor privacy. Please see the privacy page for more information. |
 |