State Regulation of Unsolicited Bulk Commercial E-mail and the Dormant Commerce Clause

This note will analyze the implications of the dormant Commerce Clause as applied to Virginia's stringent anti-spam law, under which two spammers have already been convicted of felony spamming. Part I will lay out the background of anti-spam legislation, case law involving other state statutes, and a brief history of United States Supreme Court dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence. Part II will examine the validity of state spam regulation under the Federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and current dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence, using Virginia's anti-spam law as an example. Finally, Part III will examine the shortcomings of the CAN-SPAM Act and will assert that anti-spam regulation is an area best left to states and their police powers.