Spam Bill Introduced in Wisconsin

A new state anti-spam bill aimed at combating fraudulent e-mail is making its way through the Wisconsin legislature.

Dubbed the Wisconsin 2005 Can-SPAM bill, the measure would make it a crime for anyone but nonprofit organizations and the government to send e-mail solicitations that conceal the identity of the sender or attempt to defraud consumers.

Public hearings were held on the bill last week in Wisconsin’s senate and assembly. Its sponsors, Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, and Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, hope to get the bill passed by the end of the year, or early next year, a spokesman for Davis said.

Violators could face civil and criminal penalties, including felony charges that could draw up to $10,000 in fines and six years in prison under the bill. The penalty could increase by $10,000 if the victim is elderly or disabled.

The bill is aimed mainly at combating activities like phishing, or e-mails that are disguised to be from a legitimate financial institution when they are really from thieves looking to get recipients’ account information so the thieves can clean out recipients’ accounts.

Though the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 was supposed to supersede state anti-spam laws, Wisconsin legislators believe their new anti-spam measure is not at odds with the federal government.

The federal CAN-SPAM Act makes an exception for state legislation aimed at combating fraud, said Michael Richards, policy adviser for Kanavas.

He also said that legitimate marketers have nothing to fear from Wisconsin’s anti-spam efforts.

For one thing, Wisconsin’s Can-SPAM bill contains no private right of action allowing individuals to sue, he said.

He also said that Wisconsin’s bill contains a good-faith provision for companies that send commercial e-mail that mistakenly offers, say, 50% off when the merchant really meant to say 5% off.

“There is an immunity clause for people who make mistakes,” Richards said. “This is bill is aimed at the worst of the worst.”