"and what if the e-mail in question originated from outside of North Carolina? or from New Zealand?"
Indeed. The bill addresses spam "sent into or within this State," so spam from New Zealand to here is illegal, but not so easy to pursue.
Personally, as a NC resident and a spam-hater, I love the sound of this bill -- it goes great in a.sig. But how enforceable it really is remains to be seen. I've received exactly two spams ever that I know came from NC. Everything else seems to be from UUNet accounts (mostly Palm Beach?). Even if a spammer manages to cause the requisite $2500 to be brought up on felony charges, it seems doubtful that they would ever actually be extradited from another state, much less from another country. Although it is a criminal offense, which a district attorney can pursue (meaning I don't have to get a lawyer and file my own suit), I don't know who is going to spend the time and resources to go after what amount to petty criminals.
".. does this make it illegal to send bulk e-mail to an ISP that doesn't want bulk e-mail? or make it illegal to send bulk e-mail _FROM_ an ISP that doesn't want to send bulk e-mail?"
I read that as being FROM an ISP that doesn't want spam sent. But even spamhauses have upstream providers - seems to me an ISP is an ISP is an ISP...
Slashdot Mirror
IANAL.
Indeed. The bill addresses spam "sent into or within this State," so spam from New Zealand to here is illegal, but not so easy to pursue.
Personally, as a NC resident and a spam-hater, I love the sound of this bill -- it goes great in a .sig. But how enforceable it really is remains to be seen. I've received exactly two spams ever that I know came from NC. Everything else seems to be from UUNet accounts (mostly Palm Beach?). Even if a spammer manages to cause the requisite $2500 to be brought up on felony charges, it seems doubtful that they would ever actually be extradited from another state, much less from another country. Although it is a criminal offense, which a district attorney can pursue (meaning I don't have to get a lawyer and file my own suit), I don't know who is going to spend the time and resources to go after what amount to petty criminals.
I read that as being FROM an ISP that doesn't want spam sent. But even spamhauses have upstream providers - seems to me an ISP is an ISP is an ISP...