Does California's Anti-Spam Bill Go Too Far?

from the might-be-too-tough dept

I am very much against spam, as most Techdirt readers know quite well. However, in reading the details of the new California anti-spam bill, I'm concerned. Spam foes are saying it's great because it doesn't allow any "loopholes" such as putting an "ADV" at the beginning. However, it looks as though the bill may go too far. It says that unsolicited email is banned, period. All unsolicited email. Today alone, I've received at least 3 emails which I do not consider spam - but which were "unsolicited advertising material." They were promoting various sites, and asking if Techdirt would link to them. They were personalized, and clearly not spam, but from people who honestly wanted Techdirt to link to their own sites. In theory, after January first, I could sue anyone who sends me such an email for a spam violation. Similarly, should I send someone an email to check out Techdirt, I could be sued. The bill would make a lot more sense if it banned bulk emails. However, as it stands, it will make it nearly impossible to send an email as a business entity to someone you haven't first spoken to. I'm all for ways to stop spam - but this one includes some pretty high costs.