The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill last month that tightens government control over unsolicited commercial e-mail. The legislation would require senders to accurately identify themselves by name, address and telephone number and to label unsolicited communications as spam. The Unsolicited Electronic Mail Act (H.R. 3113) would also prohibit senders from harvesting e-mail addresses from Internet registrars. It would require them to discontinue sending communications to anyone asking to be removed from distribution even if a pre-existing business relationship exists. Any individual or company violating that provision would face a civil penalty of $500 per violation plus possible civil and/or criminal actions. In addition, the measure would require Internet service providers to develop and enforce policies designed to protect customers from such e-mail and authorize the ISPs to sue for damages of $500 per incident. The act was sponsored by Reps. Heather Wilson (R-NM), Gary Miller (R-CA) and Gene Green (D-TX). The bill has moved to the Senate.
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