1. U.S. Code
  2. title 15
  3. chapter 103
  4. § 7703

Collapse to view only § 7703. Prohibition against predatory and abusive commercial e-mail

§ 7701. Congressional findings and policy
(a) Findings
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Electronic mail has become an extremely important and popular means of communication, relied on by millions of Americans on a daily basis for personal and commercial purposes. Its low cost and global reach make it extremely convenient and efficient, and offer unique opportunities for the development and growth of frictionless commerce.
(2) The convenience and efficiency of electronic mail are threatened by the extremely rapid growth in the volume of unsolicited commercial electronic mail. Unsolicited commercial electronic mail is currently estimated to account for over half of all electronic mail traffic, up from an estimated 7 percent in 2001, and the volume continues to rise. Most of these messages are fraudulent or deceptive in one or more respects.
(3) 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.
(4) The receipt of a large number of unwanted messages also decreases the convenience of electronic mail and creates a risk that wanted electronic mail messages, both commercial and noncommercial, will be lost, overlooked, or discarded amidst the larger volume of unwanted messages, thus reducing the reliability and usefulness of electronic mail to the recipient.
(5) Some commercial electronic mail contains material that many recipients may consider vulgar or pornographic in nature.
(6) The growth in unsolicited commercial electronic mail imposes significant monetary costs on providers of 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 in infrastructure.
(7) Many senders of unsolicited commercial electronic mail purposefully disguise the source of such mail.
(8) Many senders of unsolicited commercial electronic mail purposefully include misleading information in the messages’ subject lines in order to induce the recipients to view the messages.
(9) While some senders of commercial electronic mail messages provide simple and reliable ways for recipients to reject (or “opt-out” of) receipt of 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.
(10) Many senders of bulk unsolicited commercial electronic mail use computer programs to gather large numbers of electronic mail addresses on an automated basis from Internet websites or online services where users must post their addresses in order to make full use of the website or service.
(11) Many States have enacted legislation intended to regulate or reduce unsolicited commercial electronic mail, but these statutes impose different standards and requirements. As a result, they do not appear to have been successful in addressing the problems associated with unsolicited commercial electronic mail, in part because, since an electronic mail address does not specify a geographic location, it can be extremely difficult for law-abiding businesses to know with which of these disparate statutes they are required to comply.
(12) The problems associated with the rapid growth and abuse of unsolicited commercial electronic mail cannot be solved by Federal legislation alone. The development and adoption of technological approaches and the pursuit of cooperative efforts with other countries will be necessary as well.
(b) Congressional determination of public policy
On the basis of the findings in subsection (a), the Congress determines that—
(1) there is a substantial government interest in regulation of commercial electronic mail on a nationwide basis;
(2) senders of commercial electronic mail should not mislead recipients as to the source or span of such mail; and
(3) recipients of commercial electronic mail have a right to decline to receive additional commercial electronic mail from the same source.
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 2, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2699.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7701

§ 7702. DefinitionsIn this chapter:
(1) Affirmative consentThe term “affirmative consent”, when used with respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means that—
(A) the recipient expressly consented to receive the message, either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent or at the recipient’s own initiative; and
(B) if the message is from a party other than the party to which the recipient communicated such consent, the recipient was given clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was communicated that the recipient’s electronic mail address could be transferred to such other party for the purpose of initiating commercial electronic mail messages.
(2) Commercial electronic mail message
(A) In general
(B) Transactional or relationship messages
(C) Regulations regarding primary purpose
(D) Reference to company or website
(3) Commission
(4) Domain name
(5) Electronic mail address
(6) Electronic mail message
(7) FTC Act
(8) Header information
(9) Initiate
(10) Internet
(11) Internet access service
(12) Procure
(13) Protected computer
(14) Recipient
(15) Routine conveyance
(16) Sender
(A) In general
(B) Separate lines of business or divisions
(17) Transactional or relationship message
(A) In generalThe term “transactional or relationship message” means an electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is—
(i) to facilitate, complete, or confirm a commercial transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender;
(ii) to provide warranty information, product recall information, or safety or security information with respect to a commercial product or service used or purchased by the recipient;
(iii) to provide—(I) notification concerning a change in the terms or features of;(II) notification of a change in the recipient’s standing or status with respect to; or(III) at regular periodic intervals, account balance information or other type of account statement with respect to,
 a subscription, membership, account, loan, or comparable ongoing commercial relationship involving the ongoing purchase or use by the recipient of products or services offered by the sender;
(iv) to provide information directly related to an employment relationship or related benefit plan in which the recipient is currently involved, participating, or enrolled; or
(v) to deliver goods or services, including product updates or upgrades, that the recipient is entitled to receive under the terms of a transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender.
(B) Modification of definition
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 3, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2700.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7702

§ 7703. Prohibition against predatory and abusive commercial e-mail
(a) Omitted
(b) United States Sentencing Commission
(1) Directive
(2) RequirementsIn carrying out this subsection, the Sentencing Commission shall consider providing sentencing enhancements for—
(A) those convicted under section 1037 of title 18 who—
(i) obtained electronic mail addresses through improper means, including—(I) harvesting electronic mail addresses of the users of a website, proprietary service, or other online public forum operated by another person, without the authorization of such person; and(II) randomly generating electronic mail addresses by computer; or
(ii) knew that the commercial electronic mail messages involved in the offense contained or advertised an Internet domain for which the registrant of the domain had provided false registration information; and
(B) those convicted of other offenses, including offenses involving fraud, identity theft, obscenity, child pornography, and the sexual exploitation of children, if such offenses involved the sending of large quantities of electronic mail.
(c) Sense of CongressIt is the sense of Congress that—
(1) Spam has become the method of choice for those who distribute pornography, perpetrate fraudulent schemes, and introduce viruses, worms, and Trojan horses into personal and business computer systems; and
(2) the Department of Justice should use all existing law enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute those who send bulk commercial e-mail to facilitate the commission of Federal crimes, including the tools contained in chapters 47 and 63 of title 18 (relating to fraud and false statements); chapter 71 of title 18 (relating to obscenity); chapter 110 of title 18 (relating to the sexual exploitation of children); and chapter 95 of title 18 (relating to racketeering), as appropriate.
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 4, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2703.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7703

§ 7704. Other protections for users of commercial electronic mail
(a) Requirements for transmission of messages
(1) Prohibition of false or misleading transmission informationIt is unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission, to a protected computer, of a commercial electronic mail message, or a transactional or relationship message, that contains, or is accompanied by, header information that is materially false or materially misleading. For purposes of this paragraph—
(A) header information that is technically accurate but includes an originating electronic mail address, domain name, or Internet Protocol address the access to which for purposes of initiating the message was obtained by means of false or fraudulent pretenses or representations shall be considered materially misleading;
(B) a “from” line (the line identifying or purporting to identify a person initiating the message) that accurately identifies any person who initiated the message shall not be considered materially false or materially misleading; and
(C) header information shall be considered materially misleading if it fails to identify accurately a protected computer used to initiate the message because the person initiating the message knowingly uses another protected computer to relay or retransmit the message for purposes of disguising its origin.
(2) Prohibition of deceptive subject headings
(3) Inclusion of return address or comparable mechanism in commercial electronic mail
(A) In generalIt is unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission to a protected computer of a commercial electronic mail message that does not contain a functioning return electronic mail address or other Internet-based mechanism, clearly and conspicuously displayed, that—
(i) a recipient may use to submit, in a manner specified in the message, a reply electronic mail message or other form of Internet-based communication requesting not to receive future commercial electronic mail messages from that sender at the electronic mail address where the message was received; and
(ii) remains capable of receiving such messages or communications for no less than 30 days after the transmission of the original message.
(B) More detailed options possible
(C) Temporary inability to receive messages or process requests
(4) Prohibition of transmission of commercial electronic mail after objection
(A) In generalIf a recipient makes a request using a mechanism provided pursuant to paragraph (3) not to receive some or any commercial electronic mail messages from such sender, then it is unlawful—
(i) for the sender to initiate the transmission to the recipient, more than 10 business days after the receipt of such request, of a commercial electronic mail message that falls within the scope of the request;
(ii) for any person acting on behalf of the sender to initiate the transmission to the recipient, more than 10 business days after the receipt of such request, of a commercial electronic mail message with actual knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances, that such message falls within the scope of the request;
(iii) for any person acting on behalf of the sender to assist in initiating the transmission to the recipient, through the provision or selection of addresses to which the message will be sent, of a commercial electronic mail message with actual knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances, that such message would violate clause (i) or (ii); or
(iv) for the sender, or any other person who knows that the recipient has made such a request, to sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise transfer or release the electronic mail address of the recipient (including through any transaction or other transfer involving mailing lists bearing the electronic mail address of the recipient) for any purpose other than compliance with this chapter or other provision of law.
(B) Subsequent affirmative consent
(5) Inclusion of identifier, opt-out, and physical address in commercial electronic mail
(A) It is unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission of any commercial electronic mail message to a protected computer unless the message provides—
(i) clear and conspicuous identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation;
(ii) clear and conspicuous notice of the opportunity under paragraph (3) to decline to receive further commercial electronic mail messages from the sender; and
(iii) a valid physical postal address of the sender.
(B) Subparagraph (A)(i) does not apply to the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message if the recipient has given prior affirmative consent to receipt of the message.
(6) Materially
(b) Aggravated violations relating to commercial electronic mail
(1) Address harvesting and dictionary attacks
(A) In generalIt is unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission, to a protected computer, of a commercial electronic mail message that is unlawful under subsection (a), or to assist in the origination of such message through the provision or selection of addresses to which the message will be transmitted, if such person had actual knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances, that—
(i) the electronic mail address of the recipient was obtained using an automated means from an Internet website or proprietary online service operated by another person, and such website or online service included, at the time the address was obtained, a notice stating that the operator of such website or online service will not give, sell, or otherwise transfer addresses maintained by such website or online service to any other party for the purposes of initiating, or enabling others to initiate, electronic mail messages; or
(ii) the electronic mail address of the recipient was obtained using an automated means that generates possible electronic mail addresses by combining names, letters, or numbers into numerous permutations.
(B) Disclaimer
(2) Automated creation of multiple electronic mail accounts
(3) Relay or retransmission through unauthorized access
(c) Supplementary rulemaking authorityThe Commission shall by regulation, pursuant to section 7711 of this title—
(1) modify the 10-business-day period under subsection (a)(4)(A) or subsection (a)(4)(B), or both, if the Commission determines that a different period would be more reasonable after taking into account—
(A) the purposes of subsection (a);
(B) the interests of recipients of commercial electronic mail; and
(C) the burdens imposed on senders of lawful commercial electronic mail; and
(2) specify additional activities or practices to which subsection (b) applies if the Commission determines that those activities or practices are contributing substantially to the proliferation of commercial electronic mail messages that are unlawful under subsection (a).
(d) Requirement to place warning labels on commercial electronic mail containing sexually oriented material
(1) In generalNo person may initiate in or affecting interstate commerce the transmission, to a protected computer, of any commercial electronic mail message that includes sexually oriented material and—
(A) fail to include in subject span for the electronic mail message the marks or notices prescribed by the Commission under this subsection; or
(B) fail to provide that the matter in the message that is initially viewable to the recipient, when the message is opened by any recipient and absent any further actions by the recipient, includes only—
(i) to the extent required or authorized pursuant to paragraph (2), any such marks or notices;
(ii) the information required to be included in the message pursuant to subsection (a)(5); and
(iii) instructions on how to access, or a mechanism to access, the sexually oriented material.
(2) Prior affirmative consent
(3) Prescription of marks and notices
(4) Definition
(5) Penalty
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 5, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2706.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7704

§ 7705. Businesses knowingly promoted by electronic mail with false or misleading transmission information
(a) In generalIt is unlawful for a person to promote, or allow the promotion of, that person’s trade or business, or goods, products, property, or services sold, offered for sale, leased or offered for lease, or otherwise made available through that trade or business, in a commercial electronic mail message the transmission of which is in violation of section 7704(a)(1) of this title if that person—
(1) knows, or should have known in the ordinary course of that person’s trade or business, that the goods, products, property, or services sold, offered for sale, leased or offered for lease, or otherwise made available through that trade or business were being promoted in such a message;
(2) received or expected to receive an economic benefit from such promotion; and
(3) took no reasonable action—
(A) to prevent the transmission; or
(B) to detect the transmission and report it to the Commission.
(b) Limited enforcement against third parties
(1) In general
(2) ExceptionLiability for a violation of subsection (a) shall be imputed to a third party that provides goods, products, property, or services to another person that violates subsection (a) if that third party—
(A) owns, or has a greater than 50 percent ownership or economic interest in, the trade or business of the person that violated subsection (a); or
(B)
(i) has actual knowledge that goods, products, property, or services are promoted in a commercial electronic mail message the transmission of which is in violation of section 7704(a)(1) of this title; and
(ii) receives, or expects to receive, an economic benefit from such promotion.
(c) Exclusive enforcement by FTC
(d) Savings provision
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 6, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2710.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7705

§ 7706. Enforcement generally
(a) Violation is unfair or deceptive act or practice
(b) Enforcement by certain other agenciesCompliance with this chapter shall be enforced—
(1) under section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818), in the case of—
(A) national banks, and Federal branches and Federal agencies of foreign banks, by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
(B) member banks of the Federal Reserve System (other than national banks), branches and agencies of foreign banks (other than Federal branches, Federal agencies, and insured State branches of foreign banks), commercial lending companies owned or controlled by foreign banks, organizations operating under section 25 or 25A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601 and 611), and bank holding companies, by the Board;
(C) banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (other than members of the Federal Reserve System) and insured State branches of foreign banks, by the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and
(D) savings associations the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, by the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision;
(2) under the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) by the Board of the National Credit Union Administration with respect to any Federally insured credit union;
(3) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) by the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to any broker or dealer;
(4) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.) by the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to investment companies;
(5) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–1 et seq.) by the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to investment advisers registered under that Act;
(6) under State insurance law in the case of any person engaged in providing insurance, by the applicable State insurance authority of the State in which the person is domiciled, subject to section 104 of the Gramm-Bliley-Leach Act (15 U.S.C. 6701), except that in any State in which the State insurance authority elects not to exercise this power, the enforcement authority pursuant to this chapter shall be exercised by the Commission in accordance with subsection (a);
(7) under part A of subtitle VII of title 49 by the Secretary of Transportation with respect to any air carrier or foreign air carrier subject to that part;
(8) under the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) (except as provided in section 406 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 226, 227)), by the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to any activities subject to that Act;
(9) under the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.) by the Farm Credit Administration with respect to any Federal land bank, Federal land bank association, Federal intermediate credit bank, or production credit association; and
(10) under the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to any person subject to the provisions of that Act.
(c) Exercise of certain powers
(d) Actions by the Commission
(e) Availability of cease-and-desist orders and injunctive relief without showing of knowledge
(f) Enforcement by States
(1) Civil actionIn any case in which the attorney general of a State, or an official or agency of a State, has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of that State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by any person who violates paragraph (1) or (2) of section 7704(a), who violates section 7704(d), or who engages in a pattern or practice that violates paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of section 7704(a), of this title, the attorney general, official, or agency of the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in a district court of the United States of appropriate jurisdiction—
(A) to enjoin further violation of section 7704 of this title by the defendant; or
(B) to obtain damages on behalf of residents of the State, in an amount equal to the greater of—
(i) the actual monetary loss suffered by such residents; or
(ii) the amount determined under paragraph (3).
(2) Availability of injunctive relief without showing of knowledge
(3) Statutory damages
(A) In general
(B) Limitation
(C) Aggravated damagesThe court may increase a damage award to an amount equal to not more than three times the amount otherwise available under this paragraph if—
(i) the court determines that the defendant committed the violation willfully and knowingly; or
(ii) the defendant’s unlawful activity included one or more of the aggravating violations set forth in section 7704(b) of this title.
(D) Reduction of damagesIn assessing damages under subparagraph (A), the court may consider whether—
(i) the defendant has established and implemented, with due care, commercially reasonable practices and procedures designed to effectively prevent such violations; or
(ii) the violation occurred despite commercially reasonable efforts to maintain compliance the practices and procedures to which reference is made in clause (i).
(4) Attorney fees
(5) Rights of Federal regulatorsThe State shall serve prior written notice of any action under paragraph (1) upon the Federal Trade Commission or the appropriate Federal regulator determined under subsection (b) and provide the Commission or appropriate Federal regulator with a copy of its complaint, except in any case in which such prior notice is
(A) to intervene in the action;
(B) upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters arising therein;
(C) to remove the action to the appropriate United States district court; and
(D) to file petitions for appeal.
(6) ConstructionFor purposes of bringing any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent an attorney general of a State from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the laws of that State to—
(A) conduct investigations;
(B) administer oaths or affirmations; or
(C) compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documentary and other evidence.
(7) Venue; service of process
(A) Venue
(B) Service of processIn an action brought under paragraph (1), process may be served in any district in which the defendant—
(i) is an inhabitant; or
(ii) maintains a physical place of business.
(8) Limitation on State action while Federal action is pending
(9) Requisite scienter for certain civil actions
(g) Action by provider of Internet access service
(1) Action authorizedA provider of Internet access service adversely affected by a violation of section 7704(a)(1), (b), or (d) of this title, or a pattern or practice that violates paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 7704(a) of this title, may bring a civil action in any district court of the United States with jurisdiction over the defendant—
(A) to enjoin further violation by the defendant; or
(B) to recover damages in an amount equal to the greater of—
(i) actual monetary loss incurred by the provider of Internet access service as a result of such violation; or
(ii) the amount determined under paragraph (3).
(2) Special definition of “procure”
(3) Statutory damages
(A) In generalFor purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the amount determined under this paragraph is the amount calculated by multiplying the number of violations (with each separately addressed unlawful message that is transmitted or attempted to be transmitted over the facilities of the provider of Internet access service, or that is transmitted or attempted to be transmitted to an electronic mail address obtained from the provider of Internet access service in violation of section 7704(b)(1)(A)(i) of this title, treated as a separate violation) by—
(i) up to $100, in the case of a violation of section 7704(a)(1) of this title; or
(ii) up to $25, in the case of any other violation of section 7704 of this title.
(B) Limitation
(C) Aggravated damagesThe court may increase a damage award to an amount equal to not more than three times the amount otherwise available under this paragraph if—
(i) the court determines that the defendant committed the violation willfully and knowingly; or
(ii) the defendant’s unlawful activity included one or more of the aggravated violations set forth in section 7704(b) of this title.
(D) Reduction of damagesIn assessing damages under subparagraph (A), the court may consider whether—
(i) the defendant has established and implemented, with due care, commercially reasonable practices and procedures designed to effectively prevent such violations; or
(ii) the violation occurred despite commercially reasonable efforts to maintain compliance with the practices and procedures to which reference is made in clause (i).
(4) Attorney fees
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 7, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2711.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7706

§ 7707. Effect on other laws
(a) Federal law
(1) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 or 231 of title 47, chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of children) of title 18, or any other Federal criminal statute.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect in any way the Commission’s authority to bring enforcement actions under FTC Act for materially false or deceptive representations or unfair practices in commercial electronic mail messages.
(b) State law
(1) In general
(2) State law not specific to electronic mail
This chapter shall not be construed to preempt the applicability of—
(A) State laws that are not specific to electronic mail, including State trespass, contract, or tort law; or
(B) other State laws to the extent that those laws relate to acts of fraud or computer crime.
(c) No effect on policies of providers of Internet access service
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 8, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2716.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7707

§ 7708. Do-Not-E-Mail registry
(a) In general
Not later than 6 months after December 16, 2003, the Commission shall transmit to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce a report that—
(1) sets forth a plan and timetable for establishing a nationwide marketing Do-Not-E-Mail registry;
(2) includes an explanation of any practical, technical, security, privacy, enforceability, or other concerns that the Commission has regarding such a registry; and
(3) includes an explanation of how the registry would be applied with respect to children with e-mail accounts.
(b) Authorization to implement
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 9, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2716.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7708

§ 7709. Study of effects of commercial electronic mail
(a) In general
(b) Required analysis
The Commission shall include in the report required by subsection (a)—
(1) an analysis of the extent to which technological and marketplace developments, including changes in the nature of the devices through which consumers access their electronic mail messages, may affect the practicality and effectiveness of the provisions of this chapter;
(2) analysis and recommendations concerning how to address commercial electronic mail that originates in or is transmitted through or to facilities or computers in other nations, including initiatives or policy positions that the Federal Government could pursue through international negotiations, fora, organizations, or institutions; and
(3) analysis and recommendations concerning options for protecting consumers, including children, from the receipt and viewing of commercial electronic mail that is obscene or pornographic.
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 10, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2716.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7709

§ 7710. Improving enforcement by providing rewards for information about violations; labelingThe Commission shall transmit to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce—
(1) a report, within 9 months after December 16, 2003, that sets forth a system for rewarding those who supply information about violations of this chapter, including—
(A) procedures for the Commission to grant a reward of not less than 20 percent of the total civil penalty collected for a violation of this chapter to the first person that—
(i) identifies the person in violation of this chapter; and
(ii) supplies information that leads to the successful collection of a civil penalty by the Commission; and
(B) procedures to minimize the burden of submitting a complaint to the Commission concerning violations of this chapter, including procedures to allow the electronic submission of complaints to the Commission; and
(2) a report, within 18 months after December 16, 2003, that sets forth a plan for requiring commercial electronic mail to be identifiable from its subject line, by means of compliance with Internet Engineering Task Force Standards, the use of the characters “ADV” in the subject line, or other comparable identifier, or an explanation of any concerns the Commission has that cause the Commission to recommend against the plan.
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 11, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2717.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7710

§ 7711. Regulations
(a) In general
(b) Limitation
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 13, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2717.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7711

§ 7712. Application to wireless
(a) Effect on other law
(b) FCC rulemakingThe Federal Communications Commission, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, shall promulgate rules within 270 days to protect consumers from unwanted mobile service commercial messages. The Federal Communications Commission, in promulgating the rules, shall, to the extent consistent with subsection (c)—
(1) provide subscribers to commercial mobile services the ability to avoid receiving mobile service commercial messages unless the subscriber has provided express prior authorization to the sender, except as provided in paragraph (3);
(2) allow recipients of mobile service commercial messages to indicate electronically a desire not to receive future mobile service commercial messages from the sender;
(3) take into consideration, in determining whether to subject providers of commercial mobile services to paragraph (1), the relationship that exists between providers of such services and their subscribers, but if the Commission determines that such providers should not be subject to paragraph (1), the rules shall require such providers, in addition to complying with the other provisions of this chapter, to allow subscribers to indicate a desire not to receive future mobile service commercial messages from the provider—
(A) at the time of subscribing to such service; and
(B) in any billing mechanism; and
(4) determine how a sender of mobile service commercial messages may comply with the provisions of this chapter, considering the unique technical aspects, including the functional and character limitations, of devices that receive such messages.
(c) Other factors considered
(d) Mobile service commercial message defined
(Pub. L. 108–187, § 14, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2718.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7712

§ 7713. Separability

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this chapter and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.

(Pub. L. 108–187, § 15, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2718.)

CITE AS: 15 USC 7713