15 U.S.C. § 7707: Effect on other laws

Summary

Keeps federal criminal laws and the FTC’s powers in place. It does not stop federal authorities from enforcing laws about obscenity, sexual exploitation of children, or other federal crimes. It also does not limit the FTC from going after businesses that send false, misleading, or unfair commercial emails. Overrides state rules that specifically control commercial email, but states can still ban lies or deception in those messages. It does not replace general state laws like trespass, contract, tort, fraud, or computer-crime laws. It also does not change whether an Internet service provider may choose to block or refuse certain emails under other laws.

Title 15, §7707

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Federal law

(1)Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair the enforcement of section 223 or 231 of title 47, chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of children) of title 18, or any other Federal criminal statute.

(2)Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect in any way the Commission’s authority to bring enforcement actions under FTC Act for materially false or deceptive representations or unfair practices in commercial electronic mail messages.

(b)State law

(1)In general

This chapter supersedes any statute, regulation, or rule of a State or political subdivision of a State that expressly regulates the use of electronic mail to send commercial messages, except to the extent that any such statute, regulation, or rule prohibits falsity or deception in any portion of a commercial electronic mail message or information attached thereto.

(2)State law not specific to electronic mail

This chapter shall not be construed to preempt the applicability of— (A)

(B)other State laws to the extent that those laws relate to acts of fraud or computer crime.

(c)No effect on policies of providers of Internet access service

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to have any effect on the lawfulness or unlawfulness, under any other provision of law, of the adoption, implementation, or enforcement by a provider of Internet access service of a policy of declining to transmit, route, relay, handle, or store certain types of electronic mail messages.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 108–187, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2699, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 7701 of this title and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 2004, see section 16 of Pub. L. 108–187, set out as a note under section 7701 of this title.

§7707 Effect on Other Laws