Idaho Set To Enact Spam Ban Computer Users Would Have Way To Halt Deluge Of Junk E-Mails

You’ve got mail - or so you think. But when you open up those e-mail messages, you discover you’ve been “spammed” with pitches for get-rich-quick schemes, porno sites and other unwanted junk.

“It’s just trash, is what it is,” said Sen.

Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow.

If Gov. Dirk Kempthorne goes along, it will be illegal in Idaho to send spam - unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail.

State senators voted unanimously Wednesday to outlaw such messages. The House had already passed the bill.

Under HB 505, anyone sending spam to an Idahoan would have to include a legitimate return e-mail address. If recipients respond that they don’t want any more of the messages, sending more would also be illegal.

Spam victims could collect civil damages from the senders of $1,000, or $100 for each spammed message, whichever is greater.

That wouldn’t necessarily stop the messages from showing up, and enforcement against out-of-staters who don’t identify themselves could be a tricky matter.

But Idaho Attorney General Al Lance, who proposed the bill, wants something done, and the law would at least give Idaho computer users a way to complain. Spam victims would file complaints with the attorney general’s consumer protection office.

That office will try to track down anonymous operators.

“To be honest, it’s difficult,” Deputy Attorney General Michele Butts said. “We’re hoping that once businesses know it’s illegal behavior, they’ll stop sending them,” she said.

Schroeder told the Senate,“Of course, I delete them, but it takes time to do that every day.” He added, “They annoy us.”