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Union Calendar No. 43
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 718
[Report No. 107-41, Parts I and II]
To protect individuals, families, and Internet service providers from
unsolicited and unwanted electronic mail.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 14, 2001
Mrs. Wilson (for herself, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Gary Miller of
California, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr.
Largent, Mr. Fossella, Mr. Walden of Oregon, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Tauzin,
Mr. Gillmor, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Kildee, Mr.
English, Mr. Levin, Mr. Simmons, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Terry, Mr.
Rush, Mr. Bonior, Mr. Horn, Mrs. Emerson, Mr. Engel, Mrs. Jo Ann Davis
of Virginia, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Harman, Mr. Moore, Mr. Shimkus, Mr.
Barrett, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Greenwood, Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Mr.
Cramer, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Shows, Mr. Frank, Ms. McKinney,
Mr. Holt, Mr. Sandlin, Mr. Sawyer, Mr. Strickland, Mr. Weller, Mr.
King, Mr. Baker, Ms. Hart, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr.
Luther, Mr. Reyes, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Frost, Mr. Ehrlich, Mr. Burr of
North Carolina, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Isakson, Mrs. Cubin, Mr.
Barton of Texas, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Oxley, Ms. Dunn, Mr. Hastings of
Washington, Mr. Stupak, and Mr. Blunt) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
April 4, 2001
Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
April 4, 2001
Referral to the Committee on the Judiciary extended for a period ending
not later than June 5, 2001
June 5, 2001
Additional sponsors: Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Skelton, Mr.
Sweeney, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Honda, Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. Blumenauer,
Mr. Bentsen, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Hayworth, Ms. Hooley of Oregon, Mr.
Baldacci, Mrs. Biggert, Mr. Thornberry, Ms. Granger, Ms. Pryce of Ohio,
Mr. Hunter, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Ehlers, Mr.
Doolittle, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky,
Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Graham, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Flake, Mr. Issa, Mr.
Berman, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Gibbons, Ms.
Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Souder, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Dingell, Mr. DeLay,
Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Riley, Mr. Grucci, Mr. Walsh, Mr.
Sherwood, and Mr. Shuster
June 5, 2001
Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary 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 boldface roman]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on
February 14, 2001]
_______________________________________________________________________
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 2001''.
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) Affiliate.--The term ``affiliate'' means, with respect
to an entity, any other entity that--
(A) controls, is controlled by, or is under common
control with such entity; and
(B) provides marketing information to, receives
marketing information from, or shares marketing
information with such entity.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(5) 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.
(6) 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'').
(7) FTC Act.--The term ``FTC Act'' means the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
(8) Initiate.--The term ``initiate'', when used with
respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means to
originate such message or to procure the origination 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, or any other person,
whose role with respect to the message is limited to the
transmission, routing, relaying, handling, or storing, through
an automatic technical process, of a message originated by
others.
(10) 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)).
(11) 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)).
(12) Recipient consent.--The term ``recipient consent'',
when used with respect to a commercial electronic mail message,
means that--
(A) the message falls within the scope of an
express and unambiguous invitation or consent granted
by the recipient and not subsequently revoked;
(B) the recipient had clear and conspicuous notice,
at the time such invitation or consent was granted,
of--
(i) the fact that the recipient was
granting the invitation or consent;
(ii) the scope of the invitation or
consent, including what types of commercial
electronic mail messages would be covered by
the invitation or consent and what senders or
types of senders, if any, other than the party
to whom the invitation or consent was
communicated would be covered by the invitation or consent; and
(iii) a reasonable and effective mechanism
for revoking the invitation or consent; and
(C) the recipient has not, after granting the
invitation or consent, submitted a request under
section 5(a)(1) not to receive unsolicited commercial
electronic mail messages from the initiator.
(13) 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--
(A) within the 5-year period ending upon receipt of
such message, there has been a business transaction
(including a transaction involving the provision, free
of charge, of information, goods, or services, that
were requested by the recipient) between--
(i) the initiator or any affiliate of the
initiator; and
(ii) the recipient; and
(B) the recipient was, at the time of such
transaction or thereafter or in the transmission of the
commercial electronic mail message, provided a clear
and conspicuous notice of an opportunity not to receive
further messages from the initiator and any affiliates
of the initiator and has not exercised such
opportunity.
(14) Recipient.--The term ``recipient'', when used with
respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means the
addressee of such message. If an addressee of a commercial
electronic mail message has one or more electronic mail
addresses in addition to the address to which the message was
addressed, the addressee shall be treated as a separate
recipient with respect to each such address.
(15) Unsolicited commercial electronic mail message.--The
term ``unsolicited commercial electronic mail message'' means
any commercial electronic mail message that is sent to a
recipient--
(A) without prior recipient consent; and
(B)(i) with whom the initiator does not have a pre-
existing business relationship;
(ii) by an initiator or any affiliate of the
initiator after the recipient requests, pursuant to
section 5(a)(1), not to receive further commercial
electronic mail messages from that initiator; or
(iii) by a person or any affiliate of the person
after the expiration of a reasonable period of time
after the recipient requests, pursuant to section
5(a)(2), to be removed from the distribution lists
under the control of a person.
SEC. 4. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL
CONTAINING FRAUDULENT ROUTING INFORMATION.
Section 1030 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(5)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the
end;
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