House Accepts Revisions on Antispam Bill by Jennifer 8 Lee. New York Times (Dec 9) The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 only needs the signature of President Bush to become law.
"The bill would create a single set of rules for all commercial e-mail, both junk and solicited, that forces the senders to include a valid postal address and an opt-out mechanism in the body of the e-mail. Companies are prohibited from using deceptive subject lines and false return addresses, and the most serious violators could receive fines of as much as $6 million and prison terms of up to five years.
Consumer advocacy groups say, however, that it is doubtful that consumers will see a drop in advertisements for consolidated mortgage rates, impotence-fighting medications and digital cable descramblers because those could still be considered legitimate under the new law. "
Also see Congress passes anti-spam bill Associated Press via Globe and Mail (Dec 8)