Maryland judge strikes down anti-spam law News
Maryland judge strikes down anti-spam law

[JURIST] A Maryland judge has struck down as unconstitutional Maryland's 2002 Commercial Electronic Mail Act [PDF], the first state law to punish senders of junk e-mail, commonly known as spam. Judge Durke G. Thompson of the Montgomery County Circuit Court dismissed a case brought against a New York e-mail distribution company by Eric Menhart, a George Washington University Law School student. Thompson ruled on December 9 that the law unconstitutionally sought to limit the business actions of individuals outside of state borders, and thus exceeded the authority of the state. The current law on internet spam is contradictory and confused, but Menhart says he to appeal. The Baltimore Sun has more.