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Revised Code of Washington State
Concerning Commercial E-Mail

CHAPTER 19.190 RCW
COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL
Sections
19.190.005     Findings.
19.190.010     Definitions.
19.190.020     Unsolicited or misleading electronic mail — Prohibition.
19.190.030     Unsolicited or misleading electronic mail — Violation of consumer protection act.
19.190.040     Violations — Damages.
19.190.050     Blocking of commercial electronic mail by interactive computer service — Immunity from liability.
 
RCW 19.190.005  Findings. The legislature finds that the volume of commercial electronic mail is growing, and the consumer protection division of the attorney general’s office reports an increasing number of consumer complaints about commercial electronic mail. Interactive computer service providers indicate that their systems sometimes cannot handle the volume of commercial electronic mail being sent and that filtering systems fail to screen out unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages when senders use a third party’s internet domain name without the third party’s permission, or otherwise misrepresent the message’s point of origin. The legislature seeks to provide some immediate relief to interactive computer service providers by prohibiting the sending of commercial electronic mail messages that use a third party’s Internet domain name without the third party’s permission, misrepresent the message’s point of origin, or contain untrue or misleading information in the subject line.
      The legislature also finds that the utilization of electronic mail messages for commercial purposes merits further study. A select task force should be created to explore technical, legal, and cost issues surrounding the usage of electronic mail messages for commercial purposes and to recommend to the legislature any potential legislation needed for regulating commercial electronic mail messages.  [1998 c 149 § 1.]

RCW 19.190.010  Definitions. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
      (1) “Commercial electronic mail message” means an electronic mail message sent for the purpose of promoting real property, goods, or services for sale or lease.
      (2) “Electronic mail address” means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, to which electronic mail may be sent or delivered.
      (3) “Initiate the transmission” refers to the action by the original sender of an electronic mail message, not to the action by any intervening interactive computer service that may handle or retransmit the message.
      (4) “Interactive computer service” means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.
      (5) “Internet domain name” refers to a globally unique, hierarchical reference to an internet host or service, assigned through centralized internet naming authorities, comprising a series of character strings separated by periods, with the right-most string specifying the top of the hierarchy.  [1998 c 149 § 2.]

RCW 19.190.020  Unsolicited or misleading electronic mail — Prohibition. (1) No person, corporation, partnership, or association may initiate the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message from a computer located in Washington or to an electronic mail address that the sender knows, or has reason to know, is held by a Washington resident that:
      (a) Uses a third party’s Internet domain name without permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message; or
      (b) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line.
      (2) For purposes of this section, a person, corporation, partnership, or association knows that the intended recipient of a commercial electronic mail message is a Washington resident if that information is available, upon request, from the registrant of the internet domain name contained in the recipient’s electronic mail address.  [1998 c 149 § 3.]

RCW 19.190.030  Unsolicited or misleading electronic mail — Violation of consumer protection act.  (1) It is a violation of the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW, to initiate the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message that:
      (a) Uses a third party’s Internet domain name without permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message; or
      (b) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line.
      (2) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of this chapter is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or
deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.  [1998 c 149 § 4.]

RCW 19.190.040  Violations — Damages. (1) Damages to the recipient of a commercial electronic mail message sent in violation of this chapter are five hundred dollars, or actual damages, whichever is greater.
      (2) Damages to an interactive computer service resulting from a violation of this chapter are one thousand dollars, or actual damages, whichever is greater.  [1998 c 149 § 5.]