"Spamatic"

Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court Judge Durke Thompson last Thursday ruled that that state's "anti-spam" law-- the first to penalize senders of junk e-mail-- was unconstitutional because it endeavored to regulate commerce outside of Maryland's borders.

Ass.'t Attorney General Steve Sakamoto-Wengel, however, said he believes the statute should be upheld, and plaintiff Eric Menhart, a 3rd.-year law student at George Washington University, has indicated that he will appeal the case.

The federal government and as many as 36 states have "anti-spam" legislation on their books, and appeals courts in California and Washington have both overturned lower court rulings declaring those states' statutes unconstitutional on similar grounds.

Internet law is developing, Sakamoto-Wengel observed in a CNN article yesterday. "There are going to be conflicting rulings," he said. "But the ultimate hope is that they all get resolved and we have clear rules over what the states can & can't regulate."

There is a good article on the Baltimore Sun's online (registration required) from Nov. 28th. backgrounding Mr. Menhart and this particular case.

Internetweek is carrying a story this morning, too, predicting increased amounts of spam thru the holiday season.

Also, our two previous "spam" postings might be of interest.