Virginia court rejects anti-spam law

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state's anti-spam law, ruling that it violates free speech rights.

The high court's decision reversed its earlier ruling in a similar case, The Washington Post reported.

The most recent case came from the prosecution of Jeremy Jaynes of Raleigh, N.C., who was convicted in 2004 of sending tens of thousands of e-mails through America Online servers.

Virginia's anti-spam law made it a misdemeanor to send unsolicited bulk e-mail by using bogus transmission information, such as a phony domain name or Internet protocol address, and a felony if more than 10,000 recipients are mailed in a 24-hour period.

Friday's ruling was written by Justice G. Steven Age, who has since retired.

"That statute is unconstitutionally overbroad on its face," the ruling concludes, "because it prohibits the anonymous transmission of all unsolicited bulk e-mails including those containing political, religious or other speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."