In a blow against the Free Speech Coalition’s battle to overturn Utah’s anti-spam registry law, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a legal brief outlining its support for the measure.
According to a brief filed last week, the department says that it does not support the FSC’s argument that the federal CAN-SPAM Act supersedes Utah’s much-maligned e-mail registry law, dubbed the Child Protection Registry Act, Direct magazine reported.
The CAN-SPAM Act or the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, was enacted in 2003 to restrict spam e-mailings containing unsolicited material.
The government brief also said the state registry also does not violate free speech guarantees as outlined in the First Amendment.
At issue is a lawsuit filed by the FSC last fall, in an effort to overturn the registry law which it says infringes on free speech by barring adult other offensive materials from e-mail addresses listed in the so-called “Do Not Mail Registry.”
The registry contains a list of e-mail addresses that are used or can be accessed by minors.
But the FSC argues that the registry law is too broad and allows anyone to add their e-mail address to the registry.
Unspam Technologies, the company that has been pressing for states to pass similar registry laws and runs registries in Utah and Michigan, issued a press release hailing the federal announcement.
“The Department of Justice has clarified the Can-Spam Act and effectively closed the potential legal loophole pornographers were trying to use in order justify sending adult-oriented material to Utah’s children,” said Unspam CEO Matthew Prince in a statement.
“The United States has affirmed that even in the age of the Internet, states have the right to help parents keep unwanted material out of their homes.”
Jerry Mooney, an attorney representing the FSC, said the fed’s brief did not address his client’s contention that the law infringes on interstate commerce, perhaps giving the FSC reason to be optimistic.
The organization’s claim that the registry unjustly infringes on free speech is another argument that could prove pivotal, Mooney added.
But others have also argued that the registry is so flawed that it could prove harmful to children it aims to protect. Both marketers and the Federal Trade Commission have said that the registry and others like it make it easier for online predators to access children’s e-mail addresses.
The Justice Department, however, has said it’s up to Utah to determine the risks of maintaining a registry.
The case could go before Judge Dale Kimball in the U.S. District Court in Utah later this year.
