From: "Richard Johnson" <rjj@medialab.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 15:46:19 +0800
To: Ian Goldberg <cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Unsolicited email advertising already illegal in US?
Message-ID: <v02140b00ae63b67440bc@[204.144.184.50]>
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At 15:54 9/16/96, Ian Goldberg wrote:
>This piece from RISKS looks interesting.  My computer certainly _is_
>
>    "equipment which has the capacity to transcribe text or images
>    (or both) from an electronic signal received over a regular
>    telephone line onto paper."
>
>Now, are HipCrime et al. liable for $500 in damages for each piece of spam?
>If so, where do I sign up?


The intent of that law is to prevent the shifting of advertising costs to the
unwilling recipients of junk faxes.  (The $500 per message damages figure is what
prompted me to raise my proofreading rates to $500 per message.)

Twisting this law to apply it to junk email sent to computers with carefully
selected peripherals and net connections is certainly following that
anti-cost-shifting intent.  Quite amazing, that, to twist a law so cruelly and at
the same time follow its intent.

However, which way a judge would jump on it remains to be seen.  One source
considers its application to junk email to be unlikely, because in essence it's
too much of a twist.

See:
        http://www.ca-probate.com/faxlaw.htm
for another copy of the law, and
        http://techweb.cmp.com/net/issues/036issue/036law.htm
for an opinion that actual application of the law to junk email is unlikely.


Richard

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--
"As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet
deserves the highest protection from governmental intrusion. ... Just as the
strength of the Internet is chaos, so the strength of our liberty depends
upon the chaos and cacophony of the unfettered speech the First Amendment
protects."
        -- Judge Stewart Dalzell

Unsolicited advertising/promotional email proofread for $500/message!  Your sending such a message to me is an explicit request for my services!