As expected, President Bush has signed into law the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, commonly called CAN-SPAM. The legislation makes it unlawful to send unsolicited commercial e-mails, commonly referred to as "spam." The law preempts all state spam laws. Under the legislation, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the authority to set regulations implementing the law.

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 agency has six months to study the concept and report back to Congress with a definite plan. 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 law preempts three dozen state laws. That means that more restrictive state anti-spam laws, such as one passed in California this year, are superseded by the federal legislation.