Senate Passes Hatch-Leahy Bill
Targeting Worst Internet Spammers

. . .  New Criminal Penalties Authored By Hatch And Leahy
 For Predatory And Abusive Commercial E-Mail

WASHINGTON (Tues., Nov. 25) – The Senate Tuesday gained ground in the fight to stem the torrent of unsolicited e-mail clogging America’s inboxes by approving legislation coauthored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that will impose the first anti-spam criminal penalties for the worst offenders.

The legislation is part of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, or CAN SPAM Act of 2003 (S.877).  The Senate passed the bill Tuesday. It was sent back to the House of Representatives for final approval but is expected to be cleared and forwarded to the desk of President Bush for signing.  

Leahy co-authored the Criminal Spam Act – the anti-spam criminal penalties section of the bill -- with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Leahy is the panel’s ranking Democratic member.  The Hatch-Leahy bill is cosponsored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).

The legislation goes to the source by targeting the most egregious spammers: those who hijack computer systems or use other fraudulent means to send junk commercial e-mail.

“Spam clogs the Internet’s arteries and hampers its usefulness,” said Leahy.  “Spam is much more than a technological nuisance.  It undermines the vast potential of the Internet to foster the free exchange of information and commerce.  Now, for the first time we will have tools that target the principal tricks that spammers use to evade filtering software and to cover their tracks.” 

Internet Service Providers and employers have taken many costly steps to shield customers and employees from the billions of spam messages launched against them each day, but spammers continue to make inroads into personal and business computers nationwide.  A recent study by Ferris Research estimates that spam costs U.S. businesses $8.9 billion annually in lost productivity and in the need to purchase more powerful servers and additional equipment and software.

Spam is also a tool of choice for those engaging in deceptive trade practices. The Federal Trade Commission has estimated that 90 percent of the spam involving investment and business opportunities, and nearly half of the spam advertising health services and products and travel and leisure, contains false or misleading information.

The repercussions from spam extend beyond the financial.  Junk e-mail and other spam may introduce viruses, worms, and destructive programs into personal and business computer systems, including those that support the nation’s critical infrastructure.

Leahy, known as ‘the cyber senator’ for his enthusiasm for and leadership on Internet issues, said, “Where the Internet is concerned, the government should step in only when absolutely necessary.  Unfortunately, spammers have made this such a time.”

The Hatch-Leahy legislation:

§         Makes it a crime to hack into a computer, or to use a computer system that the owner has made available for other purposes, as a conduit for bulk commercial e-mail;

§         Prohibits sending bulk commercial e-mail that either falsifies the source, destination or routing information associated with the e-mail, or is generated from hijacked Internet address space or falsely registered e-mail accounts or domain names;

§         Subjects violators to stiff criminal penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment where the offense is committed in furtherance of any felony, or where the defendant has previously been convicted of a similar federal or state offense, and up to three years’ imprisonment where other aggravating factors exist.



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