Congress is poised to approve legislation that would make it unlawful to send unsolicited commercial e-mails, commonly referred to as "spam." On November 22, the House passed a compromise version of S. 877 by a vote of 392-5. The Senate followed suit, approving the measure by voice vote on November 25. Because of some technical changes, the House must approve the bill one more time before it goes to President Bush for his signature. House members are expected to consider the bill when they return December 8.

The measure authorizes (but does not require) the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a "Do Not Spam" registry similar to the "Do Not Call" registry set up for telephone solicitations. The legislation provides for an "opt out" mechanism in which all spammers must honor a recipient's request to be taken off future solicitations. Violations could lead to a maximum of five years in prison, and up to $6 million in fines and damages.  Enforcement would be handled by the FTC and state Attorneys General; however the bill would preempt three dozen state laws. That means that more restrictive state anti-spam laws, such as one California passed this year, would be superseded by the federal legislation.

S. 877 has been endorsed by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates. In a statement last week, Gates said "Microsoft particularly supports the strong enforcement provisions, and the ban on falsifying the origin of e-mail solicitations and illegally obtaining lists of e-mail addresses, both of which will help Internet service providers prosecute spammers."