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Ohio Law Could Send Spammers To Jail

Posted by timothy on from the to-roam-among-their-own-kind dept.

ej0c writes "We in Ohio are set to save you from Spam. The legislature, with AOL's help, passed a tough anti-spam bill (Reuters). Spam in Ohio, and you'll be in the can for 6 months, with fines of $25,000 per violation, or $2 to $8 per e-mail. Text of the Act."

1 of 455 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A couple of questions by RichDiesal · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to the text of the act, this includes any recipient of spam, defining recipient as:

    (a) A receiving address furnished by an electronic mail service provider that bills for furnishing and maintaining that receiving address to a mailing address within this state;

    (b) A receiving address ordinarily accessed from a computer located within this state or by a person domiciled within this state;

    (c) Any other receiving address with respect to which this section can be imposed consistent with the United States Constitution.

    So, that means that this act is designed to apply to anyone that sends spam to anyone that lives in Ohio, checks their e-mail in Ohio, or has an e-mail service provider/ISP located in Ohio.

    How enforceable that is, is really anyone's guess. But I do see it as wise to define spam by who receives it rather than who sends it ("spammers").