Press Release of Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA).
Re: Introduction of HR 2162, the Can Spam Act.
Date: June 10, 1999.
Source: Office of Rep. Miller.

Miller Proposes Bill to Can Spam

Washington D.C. - Today, Congressman Gary Miller (R-CA) continued his battle to protect Internet consumers from unsolicited, junk, commercial e-mail, otherwise known as spam, by introducing the "Can Spam Act."

"This approach will restore sanity to the realm of unsolicited commercial Internet email. Internet providers need to have the ability to protect themselves and their consumers," said Miller.

The "Can Spam Act" is modeled after a California State Law passed by Miller last year, which enjoyed strong support from Internet consumer groups and the Internet industry. The "Can Spam Act" would restrict spam by allowing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to protect their property and their customers. This approach is the most workable and market based solution ever proposed to address the serious problem of spam because it would vest ISPs with the power to control spam as they see fit. ISPs would be given a civil cause of action against unsolicited commercial e-mailers for $50 per message, up to $25,000 per day. Most legislative solutions to spam proposed to date have bogged down because they would be ineffective or are perceived as too restrictive of free speech on the Internet.

"This approach is appealing because it offers a market based solution to spamming. It puts the power to control spam into the hands of the Internet Service Provider and Internet consumers. We can avoid the Pandora's Box of government designing the rules and procedures for unsolicited commercial email advertisements. That's a road we need not go down," said Miller.

The "Can Spam Act" is also strongly supported by Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE), located at www.cauce.org on the World Wide Web. "Congressman Miller has crafted a good bill, one that recognizes the rights of service providers to protect their networks," said Ray Everett-Church, counsel for the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE). "CAUCE was proud to work with Gary Miller is his successful fight for groundbreaking anti-spam legislation in California, and we are very pleased to stand with him now in support of responsible and ethical Internet commerce for the nation. We call on Congress to heed the pleas of millions of Netizens (Internet Citizens) and quickly pass the 'Can Spam Act'."

"It is time for the law to catch up with technology, especially in the case of spam where families and businesses are forced to receive large amounts of objectionable material over the Internet. This is an issue of consumer protection, privacy and private property," concluded Miller.

A bipartisan group, Representatives Holt (D-NJ), Metcalf (R-WA), English (R-PA), Underwood (D-GU), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Morella (R-MD), Baker (R-LA), and Calvert (R-CA) are all original cosponsors of the "Can Spam Act."