Colloquium Archive

For almost as long as there has been unsolicited commercial email (i.e., spam), there have been attempts to combat it through legal action. Spam has been the subject of litigation based on laws of advertising, trespass, fraud and other general theories. Several states led the way with legislation specifically addressing spam, and the U.S. Congress passed a national law in 2003. To figure out where we are and where we are likely headed, it's important to understand the evolution of these laws, and the issues inherent in efforts to enforce them.