Internet users who dislike unsolicited advertising SPAM might take heart from a bill that´s cleared its first state legislative hurdle.
The bill allows users to sue e-mail marketing firms $500 dollars for each e-mail they don´t want. Consumers may like it. But, representatives of America Online and Microsoft say it puts legitimate advertisers in the same category as those that mail out unsolicited pornography. They say e-mail is a fast-emerging and inexpensive form of advertising for valid businesses.
Senators say most consumers don´t want the e-mail, and say polls show they want it outlawed.
