Slashdot Mirror
Spam Laws Aggregated At SpamLaws.com
Compulawyer writes "I recently came across this website, SpamLaws.com, which has a fairly comprehensive list of laws covering unsolicited commercial email. My new favorite is the Ohio Statute. Spam must include the full name, either residence or business address, and email address of the spammer and provide an opt-out notice in the same type and size as the majority of the text of the message itself. The statute provides not only for damages of $100 per offense ($50,000 cap), but also allows for an injunction against the spammer. ISPs can also sue for $50 per violation ($50,000 cap - $500,000 cap if the violations were willful). The best part (for the non-lawyers and those who want the executive summary) is that forging headers is a FELONY."
And that's the best part? A felony is too severe. I don't like spammers at all, but it's not justice if the punishment doesn't fit the crime. /. had an article the other day about crackers getting penalties that were harsher than real-world crimes, such as robbery or assault. Is this just another example of irrational punishments attached to cyber-crime?
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.