California Congressman Gary Miller's anti-spam legislation gets a hearing Wednesday before the House Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
The Miller bill, which he calls the Can Spam Act, is one of three anti-spam measures the subcommittee begins reviewing.
"Unsolicited commercial email is something I have been battling for over two years now, so I am thrilled that the committee decided this issue is important enough to schedule a hearing on," the California Republican says. "I know that my approach is supported by Internet consumers and the Internet industry, so I am confident we will be able to present a compelling case in this hearing."
The Miller bill is modeled on a California state law passed last year. It would restrict spam by letting Internet service providers protect their property and their customers as they see fit. ISPs would receive a "civil cause of action" against spammers for $50 a message, up to $25,000 per day.
Most previous anti-spam legislation, Miller says, got bogged down because of perceived ineffectiveness, over-regulation, or too restrictive of free speech. He plans a press conference early next week to drop off some 600,000 unsolicited commercial e-mail messages to the Federal Trade Commission.
Miller's bill has broad bipartisan support, with 25 Republicans and Democrats signing on as co-sponsors.
