Photo by Rick Bawmer 2008 Associated Press (Photo of Virginia Governor Mark Warner at an AOL anti-spam bill signing in Dulles, VA.)
By Chelsea Choi
According to ADLAW By Request, the Virginia Supreme Court found a Virginia anti-spam law to be unconstitutional.
In the state's first ever conviction under the anti-spam law, Jeremy Jaynes was convicted under the Virginia Computer Crimes Act of illegal spam. Jaynes sent tens of thousands of junk emails to subscribers of America Online, Inc. (AOL). Jaynes used fake domain names and header information when sending the emails.
Jaynes was convicted by a jury and the conviction was upheld by a Virginia Court of Appeals.
But the Virginia Supreme Court dropped the conviction claiming the statute was unconstitutional because it “prohibits the anonymous transmission of all unsolicited bulk e-mails including those containing political, religious or other speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution” (ADLAW by Request, 2008).
The battle continued as the Commonwealth of Virginia argued that its statute only prohibits the sending of email that is sent using false information. The Commonwealth argued that there is no First Amendment right to use false identification to gain access to private servers.
Because email transmission can be traced by a user's IP address and domain name, the only way somone can send annonymous email is to use false information. Anonymous speech is an aspect of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.
The Virginia Supreme Court found the statute is not narrowly tailored to protect the compelling interests of the Commonwealth, the court concluded. The ruling also favors email marketers. It recognizes that First Amendment speech includes and protects email.
By Chelsea Choi
According to ADLAW By Request, the Virginia Supreme Court found a Virginia anti-spam law to be unconstitutional.
In the state's first ever conviction under the anti-spam law, Jeremy Jaynes was convicted under the Virginia Computer Crimes Act of illegal spam. Jaynes sent tens of thousands of junk emails to subscribers of America Online, Inc. (AOL). Jaynes used fake domain names and header information when sending the emails.
Jaynes was convicted by a jury and the conviction was upheld by a Virginia Court of Appeals.
But the Virginia Supreme Court dropped the conviction claiming the statute was unconstitutional because it “prohibits the anonymous transmission of all unsolicited bulk e-mails including those containing political, religious or other speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution” (ADLAW by Request, 2008).
The battle continued as the Commonwealth of Virginia argued that its statute only prohibits the sending of email that is sent using false information. The Commonwealth argued that there is no First Amendment right to use false identification to gain access to private servers.
Because email transmission can be traced by a user's IP address and domain name, the only way somone can send annonymous email is to use false information. Anonymous speech is an aspect of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.
The Virginia Supreme Court found the statute is not narrowly tailored to protect the compelling interests of the Commonwealth, the court concluded. The ruling also favors email marketers. It recognizes that First Amendment speech includes and protects email.
No comments:
Post a Comment