Legal Definitions - Washington

In the context of commercial electronic communications, "Washington" refers to the state of Washington's specific laws designed to protect consumers from unwanted, deceptive, or harmful electronic messages and practices. These laws cover various forms of communication, including commercial emails, text messages, faxes, and telemarketing calls, as well as broader consumer protection against unfair business practices and computer-related crimes.

Key aspects of Washington's regulations include:

• Commercial Email and Text Messages (CEMA): The Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) prohibits sending commercial electronic emails or text messages to or from Washington computers if the sender disguises the origin or transmission path (e.g., by using another party's internet domain name without permission) or if the subject line contains false or misleading information. While Washington has its own law, it's important to note that the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 often takes precedence for email spam, meaning federal law may apply even if Washington's law is also violated.
• Telemarketing: Washington law prohibits the use of automated dialing machines for commercial solicitation purposes.
• Unsolicited Faxes: The state also prohibits sending unsolicited advertisements via fax transmission, with some specific exceptions.
• Unlawful Trade Practices: Washington's Consumer Protection Act broadly prohibits unfair or deceptive business practices, which can include various forms of misleading electronic communication.
• Computer-Related Crime: Washington law specifically prohibits the electronic transmission of software designed to harvest private data (like "spyware" or "phishing" software) or to manipulate a recipient's computer in other harmful ways. It also criminalizes false or misleading advertising conducted through any electronic means.

Here are some examples illustrating how Washington's laws apply:

• Example 1 (Commercial Email - CEMA): A company based outside Washington sends a mass email campaign to promote a new line of health supplements. The email's "From" address deceptively appears to be from a well-known medical research institution, and the subject line reads "Urgent Health Alert: New Breakthrough!" when the email is purely promotional. Many recipients are located in Washington.

  How it illustrates the term: This scenario would likely violate Washington's CEMA because the sender disguised the email's origin (by using a misleading "From" address) and used a false or misleading subject line to entice recipients to open a commercial message. Even if the company isn't physically in Washington, sending these emails to Washington residents could trigger the state's protections.

• Example 2 (Automated Telemarketing): A financial services firm uses an automated dialing system to call thousands of phone numbers in Washington, playing a pre-recorded message that offers low-interest personal loans. The system automatically dials numbers and plays the message without a live operator initiating each call.

  How it illustrates the term: This directly violates Washington's prohibition against using automatic dialing machines for commercial solicitation. The firm is using technology to make unsolicited commercial calls without human intervention for each dial, which is precisely what the law aims to prevent.

• Example 3 (Spyware/Phishing and Unlawful Trade Practices): An online advertisement pops up on a Washington resident's computer, promising a "free diagnostic scan" for their system. If the user clicks, the ad installs software that secretly monitors their internet activity and collects their personal information, which is then sold to third-party marketers. The ad itself was also misleading about the software's true purpose.

  How it illustrates the term: This situation demonstrates a violation of Washington's laws prohibiting the electronic transmission of software designed to harvest private data ("spyware"). Additionally, the misleading advertisement and the deceptive installation of monitoring software could be considered an "unlawful trade practice" under the Washington Consumer Protection Act and "false or misleading advertising by electronic means" under computer-related crime statutes.