Skip to main content
S 1293 108th Congress Senate

Criminal Spam Act of 2003

Official title: A bill to criminalize the sending of predatory and abusive e-mail.

Introduced: June 24, 2003 See on congress.gov
Science, Technology, Communications Administrative procedureCivil actions and liabilityCommerceComputer software
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
ComputersCongressCongressional reporting requirementsConspiracyConsumer educationCrime and Law EnforcementCriminal investigationDamagesDeceptive advertisingDirect mail advertisingElectronic commerceElectronic government informationElectronic mail systemsFines (Penalties)Forfeiture
This bill died when the 108th Congress ended
It never became law before the 108th Congress (2003–2004) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 7 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Oct 22, 2003
By Senator Hatch from Committee on the Judiciary filed written report. Report No. 108-170.
Sep 25, 2003
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 288.
Sep 25, 2003
Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Hatch with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Sep 25, 2003
Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Jun 19, 2003
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Jun 19, 2003
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8238-8239)
Jun 19, 2003
Introduced in Senate
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action October 22, 2003

By Senator Hatch from Committee on the Judiciary filed written report. Report No. 108-170.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Criminal Spam Act of 2003 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce: (1) accessing a protected computer without authorization and intentionally initiating the transmission of multiple commercial electronic mail (e-mail) messages (spam) from or through such computer; (2) using a protected computer to relay or retransmit spam with the intent to deceive or mislead recipients or any Internet access service as to the origin of such messages; (3) falsifying header information in and intentionally initiating the transmission of spam; (4) registering for five or more e-mail or online user accounts or two or more domain names using information that falsifies the identity of the actual registrant and intentionally initiating the transmission of spam from any combination of such accounts or domain names; or (5) falsely representing the right to use five or more Internet protocol addresses and intentionally initiating the transmission of spam from such addresses. Prohibits conspiring to do so.

Sets criminal and civil penalties for violations, including forfeiture to the United States of a violator's: (1) real or personal property constituting or traceable to gross profits or other proceeds obtained from such offense; and (2) equipment, software, or other technology used or intended to be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of the offense.

Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the sentencing guidelines and policy statements and consider providing sentencing enhancements for violations of this Act for convicted persons who: (1) obtained e-mail addresses through improper means, including by harvesting e-mail addresses of the users of a website, proprietary service, or other online public forum operated by another person, without that person's authorization or by randomly generating e-mail addresses by computer; or (2) knew that the commercial e-mail messages involved in the offense contained or advertised an Internet domain for which the registrant of the domain had provided false registration information.

(Sec. 3) Requires the Departments of Justice and State to report on efforts to achieve international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting spammers who engage in conduct that violates this Act. Calls for such Departments to work through international fora for such cooperation.

 Bill text 2 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1293: Criminal Spam Act of 2003. 108th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/108-S-1293/
MLA
"S. 1293: Criminal Spam Act of 2003." 108th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/108-S-1293/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1293, 108th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/108-S-1293/.
Markdown link
[S. 1293: Criminal Spam Act of 2003](https://openamerica.io/bill/108-S-1293/)
Report a problem