WASHINGTON, DC - In order to protect California consumers from the growing problem of unsolicited email spam, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), voted today in support of the CAN SPAM Act of 2003 (S. 877) - legislation which includes civil and criminal penalties for senders of unlawful unsolicited email, explores the idea of a "do-not-spam" list and mandates special labels for pornographic email messages.
"Email spam has gone from a minor annoyance to an enormous problem that requires immediate attention," Rep. Schiff said today. "Often, links to pornographic sites are disguised in unsolicited email spam as advertisements or contest offers. Parents, consumers and business owners deserve a way to protect themselves against these unwanted emails and I think this bill is a good first step towards accomplishing that goal."
Rep. Schiff has a long history of working to protect Southern Californians from bothersome email spam. In the 107th Congress, Schiff introduced an amendment to the Anti-Spamming Act of 2001 to require an "ADV:" (advertisement) label on all unsolicited commercial email to make it easier to filter out unwanted spam. He raised this issue again in a House Judiciary Committee hearing in July 2003. The current legislation, which passed today, contains a provision addressing Schiff’s concerns. S. 877 requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to submit a report to Congress within 18 months that sets forth a plan for requiring commercial email to have such identifiers as an "ADV:" label in the subject line, specifically for the purpose of enabling consumers to immediately filter out the spam.
Specifically, the CAN SPAM Act of 2003:
· Requires the Federal Trade Commission to submit a plan to Congress for the implementation of a national "do-not-spam" list, similar to the "do-not-call" list for which millions of Americans have already registered;
· Mandates that senders of marketing emails include a return address so the consumer can reply back telling the sender to stop the spam;
· Requires unsolicited messages to include clear notification that the message is an advertisement;
· Prohibits false and deceptive headers so that consumers can immediately identify the true source of the message; and
· Requires FTC to write rules for mandatory labeling of pornographic messages.
Rep. Schiff represents California’s 29th Congressional District, including the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.