---
kind: "section"
citation: "15 U.S.C. § 7703"
title: "15"
title_heading: "Commerce and Trade"
number: "7703"
heading: "Prohibition against predatory and abusive commercial e-mail"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/15/7703"
units:
  - "Chapter 103 — Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing"
---

# §7703. Prohibition against predatory and abusive commercial e-mail

- (a) **Omitted—**
- (b) **United States Sentencing Commission—**
  - (1) **Directive—** Pursuant to its authority under [section 994(p) of title 28](/usc/28/994.md?p=p) and in accordance with this section, the United States Sentencing [Commission](/usc/15/7702.md?p=3) shall review and, as appropriate, amend the sentencing guidelines and policy statements to provide appropriate penalties for violations of [section 1037 of title 18](/usc/18/1037.md), as added by this section, and other offenses that may be facilitated by the sending of large quantities of unsolicited electronic mail.
  - (2) **Requirements—** In carrying out this subsection, the Sentencing [Commission](/usc/15/7702.md?p=3) shall consider providing sentencing enhancements for—
    - (A) those convicted under [section 1037 of title 18](/usc/18/1037.md) who—
      - (i) obtained [electronic mail addresses](/usc/15/7702.md?p=5) through improper means, including—
        - (I) harvesting [electronic mail addresses](/usc/15/7702.md?p=5) of the users of a website, proprietary service, or other online public forum operated by another [person](/usc/15/7a.md?p=6), without the authorization of such [person](/usc/15/7a.md?p=6); and
        - (II) randomly generating [electronic mail addresses](/usc/15/7702.md?p=5) by computer; or
      - (ii) knew that the [commercial electronic mail messages](/usc/15/7702.md?p=2-A) involved in the offense contained or advertised an [Internet](/usc/15/7702.md?p=10) domain for which the registrant of the domain had provided false registration information; and
    - (B) those convicted of other offenses, including offenses involving fraud, identity theft, obscenity, child pornography, and the sexual exploitation of children, if such offenses involved the sending of large quantities of electronic mail.
- (c) **Sense of Congress—** It is the sense of Congress that—
  - (1) Spam has become the method of choice for those who distribute pornography, perpetrate fraudulent schemes, and introduce viruses, worms, and Trojan horses into personal and business computer systems; and
  - (2) the Department of Justice should use all existing law enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute those who send bulk commercial e-mail to facilitate the [commission](/usc/15/7702.md?p=3) of Federal crimes, including the tools contained in chapters [47](/usc/18/chptI/ch47.md) and [63](/usc/18/chptI/ch63.md) of title 18 (relating to fraud and false statements); [chapter 71](/usc/18/chptI/ch71.md) of title 18 (relating to obscenity); [chapter 110](/usc/18/chptI/ch110.md) of title 18 (relating to the sexual exploitation of children); and [chapter 95](/usc/18/chptI/ch95.md) of title 18 (relating to racketeering), as appropriate.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 108–187, § 4, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2703.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section is comprised of section 4 of Pub. L. 108–187. Subsec. (a) of section 4 of Pub. L. 108–187 enacted section 1037 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and amended analysis for chapter 47 of Title 18. The provisions of subsec. (b) of section 4 of Pub. L. 108–187 are also listed in a table relating to sentencing guidelines set out as a note under section 994 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 2004, see section 16 of Pub. L. 108–187, set out as a note under section 7701 of this title.