Simple English definitions for legal terms
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The CAN-SPAM Act is a law made by the government to stop people from sending spam emails. Spam emails are emails that you didn't ask for and don't want. The law says that people can't lie or trick you in the email subject or content, and they have to give you a way to say you don't want any more emails from them. The law also says that states can't make their own laws about spam emails, but they can still make laws to stop people from being dishonest in emails. The courts will decide which state laws are okay and which ones aren't.
The CAN-SPAM Act is a law passed by Congress in 2003 to regulate spam email. The law sets a national standard for the regulation of spam email and prohibits the inclusion of deceptive or misleading information and subject headings. It also requires identifying information such as a return address in email messages and prohibits sending emails to a recipient after an explicit response that the recipient does not want to continue receiving messages (i.e. an "opt-out").
The Act also "preempts" (supersedes) state laws that regulate the sending of commercial email. However, state laws prohibiting fraud or deception in the content of email or email attachments won't be preempted. Principles of federalism applied to the interpretation of this section of the Act will also protect some state laws from being preempted. The question as to what specific state laws are preempted, and to what extent they are preempted, is one that will ultimately be worked out in the courts.
These examples illustrate how the CAN-SPAM Act regulates the content and sending of commercial emails to protect consumers from deceptive or unwanted messages.
What can states (and state-funded organizations) regulate? | whiplash