AOL is supporting a new antispam initiative in Maryland that would complement AOL's public policy efforts at the Federal level and in other states to fight back against spam and spammers on behalf of
its members. AOL is backing a strong new antispam proposal authored by State Representative Neil F. Quinter (D-13; Howard County) and State Senator Robert J. Garagiola (D-15; Montgomery County), which
is based on the nation's toughest law against junk email in Virginia. The Maryland Spam Control Act (H.B 1320/S.B. 604), would impose tough criminal penalties against the most egregious spammers who
use tactics of fraud and deceit to get spam into the email inboxes of online consumers. These sanctions, enforceable by the Maryland Attorney General, include jail time (maximum penalty 5 years),
asset forfeiture, and monetary penalties. If enacted, the Maryland Spam Control Act would work hand-in-hand with the tough criminal provisions of the new Federal law - the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act.
