H. B. 2627


(By Delegates Mahan, Coleman, Johnson, Pino, Linch, Capito and Faircloth)


[Introduced February 3, 1999; referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary.]




A BILL to amend chapter forty-six a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article six-g, relating to mailing of unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages as deceptive and unfair trade practices and establishing prohibitions relating thereto; defining terms; establishing that certain internet messages are prohibited under this article; specifying contents of prohibited messages; prohibiting misrepresenting or falsifying certain information; requiring prior approval, certain disclosures or preexisting relationships for certain messages activities; authorizing interactive computer services to limit transmissions of any commercial electronic mail which violates this article; limiting liability of interactive computer services for terminating service to persons that violate this article; and establishing a penalty for violations of this article.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter forty-six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article six-g, to read as follows:
Article 6G. ELECTRONIC MAIL PROTECTION ACT.
§46A-6G-1. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(1) "Commercial electronic mail message" means an electronic mail message sent for the purpose of promoting 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" means 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 the computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the internet.
(5) "Internet domain name" means 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.
() "Person" means........?????????
§46A-6G-2. Limitations on unsolicited commercial electronic mail.
(a) The provisions of this article apply to any person who initiates a commercial electronic mail message in violation of subsection (b) of this section in which the person can discern whether or not the intended recipient of a commercial electronic mail message is a West Virginia resident, if that information is available, upon request, from the registrant of the internet domain name, which is provided in the recipient's electronic mail address, and the sender initiates the transmission disregarding that it constitutes a violation of this article.
(b) No person may initiate the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message from a computer located in the state of West Virginia or to an electronic mail address that the sender knows, or has reason to know, is held by a West Virginia resident that:
(1) Uses a third party's internet domain name without the 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;
(2) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line;
(3) Does not clearly provide the date and time the message is sent, the identity of the business, other entity, or individual sending the message, and the return electronic mail address of such business, other entity, or individual;
(4) Lacks a preexisting and ongoing business or personal relationship, unless such individual provides express invitation or permission to accept electronic mail messages from a particular business, other entity, or individual sending the message;
(5) Does not provide a toll-free telephone number or a valid electronic mail address as a means of removal from a particular electronic mailing list;
(6) Uses a third party's internet domain name without the 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
(7) Contains false or misleading information in the subject line.
§46A-6G-3. Interactive computer service authority; liability.
(1) An interactive computer service may block the receipt or transmission through its service of any commercial electronic mail that it reasonably believes is, or will be, sent in violation of this chapter.
(2) An interactive computer service may disconnect or terminate the service of any business, other entity, or individual that is in violation of this chapter.
(3) No interactive computer service may be held liable for any action voluntarily taken in good faith to block the receipt or transmission through its service of any commercial electronic mail which it reasonably believes is, or will be, sent in violation of this chapter; nor will any interactive computer service be held liable for any action voluntarily taken in good faith to disconnect or terminate the service of any business, other entity, or individual that is in violation of this chapter.
§46A-6G-4. Violations constitute violation of consumer protection act.
Any violation of section two of this article constitutes an unlawful act or practice under the provisions of article six, section one hundred four of this chapter.



Note: The purpose of this bill is to minimize the amount of unsolicited electronic mail that is sent to electronic mail recipients, and to prohibit the sending of electronic mail messages that use a third party's internet domain name without the third party's permission, misrepresent the messages point of origin, or contain untrue or misleading information.

This article is new, therefore there are no underlining and strike-throughs.