It was also ruled that the anti-spam law does not violate federal interstate commerce regulations, after the lower court had said that it unfairly burdened companies because it required them to distinguish between Washington residents and those living in other states. The ruling stated that the burden of truthfulness “does not burden commerce at all but actually facilitates it by eliminating fraud and deception.”
This appeal decision overturns a ruling of last year that found the state’s anti-spam law of 1998 unduly restrictive and burdensome.
Eighteen US states have now passed some form of anti-spam legislation although, while similar laws are moving through congress, the country does not have any federal anti-spam laws in force.