Assembly Arms Fight Against Junk E-Mail

Maryland lawmakers, as overwhelmed and fed up by junk e-mail as the people they serve, have approved one of the toughest and broadest criminal measures in the country targeting outlaw spammers.

The bill passed in the General Assembly's waning hours Monday night, without a murmur of dissent. "Nobody testified against this legislation," said Sen. Robert J. Garagiola (D-Montgomery), a key sponsor who is confident of Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s speedy signature on the Spam Deterrence Act. "Everyone can relate to it, and that's why the governor won't veto it."

The measure would prohibit individuals, organizations and companies from sending bulk e-mail that falsifies or disguises the sender's identity, address or subject matter. It also would snag those who operate by infiltrating a legitimate service provider's system and using it without authority to distribute e-mail.

"Anything that misleads the recipient as to the origin of the message," Garagiola said -- a category that certainly would have snagged the fraudulent e-mail a spammer sent last year to a local delegate's constituents via his campaign address. As Garagiola recalled, it offered a great deal on Viagra.

In the future, such a posting would do more than provoke outrage. Whether it was sent from within Maryland or simply received in-state, the people behind it could face prison terms of three to 10 years and fines of $5,000 to $25,000.

Maryland's approach parallels the federal "Can-Spam Act," in effect since Jan. 1. Both aim to control a problem that, in just a few years, has grown to voluminous proportions. Industry experts estimate that 60 percent of all electronic traffic is unsolicited e-mail, containing unwanted, offensive or fraudulent information about body-enhancing surgeries or prescriptions, mortgage loans, get-rich-quick opportunities and pornography. For businesses, that translates annually into billions of dollars in lost productivity and filtering efforts.

"It gets to the point where you're hitting 'delete' more than you're looking to open e-mail from friends, colleagues," Garagiola said.

Virginia passed a similar law in 2003, and two North Carolina men were named in felony indictments in December. At one point, according to state Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R), the defendants' operation was responsible for more than 10,000 messages a day.

In both states, a coalition of Internet providers and technology companies supported the legislation. Supporters of Maryland's bill include the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

"This is a timely and much-needed new weapon in our ongoing effort to protect our members by canning the spam and by pursuing the main targets in the spam war -- the kingpin spammers who use outrageous tactics to trick and deceive" providers and consumers alike, America Online Deputy General Counsel Curtis Lu said in a statement yesterday.

He noted the Maryland legislation's national implications, because it allows prosecution no matter where the perpetrator resides.

Garagiola agreed. "It gives law enforcement the tools to go after these people," he said. "I envision other states following suit, and as they do, there'll be a 50-fold [increase], with 50 states putting anti-spam cops on the street."

If signed by the governor, the law would take effect Oct. 1.