The California Spam Law at Business and Professions Code 17529.5 is the surviving core of the state’s anti-spam regime, in effect since January 1, 2004. It remains enforceable because CAN-SPAM preserves state laws that target falsity and deception.
What the California Spam Law Prohibits
The statute prohibits commercial email sent to or from California that uses a third party’s domain without permission, contains falsified, misrepresented, or forged header information, or carries a subject line likely to mislead the recipient about the contents of the message. It applies to advertisers as well as senders, so a company whose product is promoted in a deceptive email can be liable even if a vendor pressed send.
Damages and Enforcement
Recipients, email providers, and the attorney general can all sue. Liquidated damages run 1,000 dollars per email up to 1 million dollars per incident, reducible to 100 dollars per email where the defendant had good compliance practices in place, plus attorney fees. For marketers the practical rule is simple: subject lines and from names must accurately reflect who is emailing and what the message contains, and that standard extends to affiliate campaigns run on your behalf.
Source: California Legislative Information: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17529.5
Report a violation: If you believe a business is violating this law, you can file a complaint with the California Attorney General Consumer Protection.
