Xref: utzoo news.admin:5432 comp.org.ieee:56
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ucsd!brian
From: brian@ucsd.EDU (Brian Kantor)
Newsgroups: news.admin,comp.org.ieee
Subject: Advertising vs the net
Message-ID: <1586@ucsd.EDU>
Date: 5 Apr 89 13:30:17 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Avant-Garde of the Now, Ltd.
Lines: 27

California Assembly Bill AB576 (not yet passed into law) states
that a person who uses a machine that electronically transmits
messages or facsimilies of documents through connection with a
telephone network to transmit unsolicited advertising material for
the sale of any realty, goods, or services is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The IEEE San Diego Section Bulletin (from which the above is
excerpted) states that the SD-IEEE propose supporting that Bill.

Apparently this is an attempt to control FAX junkmail.

I do not have the full text of the Bill, but it seems to me that
there is some possibility that it could affect the USENET (and other
BBS-like) transmission of many types of messages that are currently
accepted by this community.  There might also be significant
first-amendment issues.

Possibly other states might follow California's lead on this; some
states have already enacted or considered FAX junkmail legislation.
It seems to me that such a law must be drafted carefully to avoid
fixing things that aren't broken.

It might well be worth your time to write for a copy of the Bill
and comment upon it to your legislators.  Remember that they don't
read the net, so blowing smoke here won't help.

	- Brian