Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail, known as spam, recently became more complicated. Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously overturned a lower court ruling that had struck down the state's anti-spam law. The ruling makes it possible for spam senders to be sued and possibly fined if they send misleading spam to state residents.

The Washington law, considered one of the strongest state anti-spam laws, bans unsolicited commercial e-mails that contain misleading information in the subject line, an invalid address or a disguised transmission path. Fines for violators range from $100 to $1,000 per e-mail.

The court ruling was part of a case against a man who allegedly sent spam with a misleading subject line -- "Did I get the right e-mail address?" -- to some Washington state residents. The suit alleged the e-mails violated the state's anti-spam law, but the state's Superior Court struck down the law, saying it placed undue burdens on interstate business because it required companies sending unsolicited commercial e-mails to determine the state of residence for each recipient. The state's Supreme Court disagreed, saying the trial court apparently focused not on what spammers must do to comply with the Act, but on what they must do if they choose to use deceptive subject lines or to falsify elements in the transmission path. Spammers would not incur undue burdens or costs if they complied with the law; they would only incur costs if they choose to mislead recipients, the Supreme Court said.

Some other states have anti-spam laws as well, and at least four anti-spam bills are currently being considered in the U.S. Congress. However, due to continued debate, it doesn't look like Congress will pass anti-spam legislation soon.

In any case, sending spam is becoming more risky. If you plan to do it, you need to be careful not to mislead recipients. Most state spam laws are applicable only to spammers located in the state or to spam sent from a computer or Internet service in the state. However, some states, such as Washington, require only that the message be sent to a state resident.

For more information about spam, current and pending laws and consumer outrage against spam, visit these sites:

• Washington State's Anti-Spam Law - http://www.wa.gov/wwweb/AGO/junkemail/
• Summary of State Spam Laws - http://www.spamlaws.com/state/summary.html
• Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail - http://www.cauce.org/
• Boycott Internet Spam - http://spam.abuse.net/