Legal Definitions - North Carolina

In the context of commercial communications, North Carolina refers to a set of state laws designed to protect its residents and businesses from unwanted and often deceptive marketing messages sent through various electronic means. These laws regulate unsolicited commercial emails (often called "spam"), telemarketing calls, and fax advertisements. The aim is to prevent practices such as sending emails with misleading subject lines, making unauthorized calls to individuals on a "Do Not Call" list, or transmitting unsolicited advertisements via fax, and to prohibit unauthorized access to computer systems for commercial purposes.

• Example 1: Deceptive Commercial Email

  A marketing firm based outside North Carolina sends out millions of emails to North Carolina residents promoting a new financial product. Many of these emails use subject lines like "Your Account Update" or "Important Security Alert" to trick recipients into opening them, even though they are purely commercial advertisements. The emails also lack a clear unsubscribe option and do not accurately identify the sender.

  This scenario illustrates North Carolina's laws against commercial email and spam (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-539.2A, 14-453, 14-458). The deceptive subject lines, lack of proper identification, and absence of an unsubscribe mechanism would likely violate these statutes, which aim to prevent misleading practices and unauthorized commercial solicitations via email within the state.

• Example 2: Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

  A solar panel installation company repeatedly calls a North Carolina resident who has registered their phone number on both the national and North Carolina "Do Not Call" lists. Despite the resident's requests to stop calling, the company continues to use an automated dialing system to deliver pre-recorded messages promoting their services.

  This situation falls under North Carolina's telemarketing and telephonic anti-solicitation laws (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 66-260 et seq.; N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 75-100 et seq.). These statutes prohibit businesses from making unsolicited commercial calls to individuals who have opted out by registering on "Do Not Call" lists, and they also regulate the use of automated dialing systems and pre-recorded messages without prior consent.

• Example 3: Unsolicited Fax Advertisements

  A new office supply company starts sending out advertisements for discounted printer ink and paper via fax to hundreds of businesses across North Carolina. Many of these businesses have never interacted with the company and did not provide their fax numbers for marketing purposes. The faxes consume paper and toner for the recipients without their consent.

  This example demonstrates the application of North Carolina's fax anti-solicitation laws (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 75-115 et seq.). These laws are designed to prevent businesses from sending unsolicited advertisements via fax, recognizing that such faxes impose costs (paper, toner, machine usage) on the recipient without their permission and can be a nuisance.