---
kind: "section"
citation: "15 U.S.C. § 7707"
title: "15"
title_heading: "Commerce and Trade"
number: "7707"
heading: "Effect on other laws"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/15/7707"
units:
  - "Chapter 103 — Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing"
---

# §7707. Effect on other laws

- (a) **Federal law—**
  - (1) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair the enforcement of section [223](/usc/47/223.md) or [231](/usc/47/231.md) of title 47, [chapter 71](/usc/15/chch71.md) (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating to sexual exploitation of children) of [title 18](/usc/18.md), or any other Federal criminal statute.
  - (2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect in any way the [Commission](/usc/15/7702.md?p=3)’s authority to bring enforcement actions under [FTC Act](/usc/15/7702.md?p=7) for materially false or deceptive representations or unfair practices in [commercial electronic mail messages](/usc/15/7702.md?p=2-A).
- (b) **State law—**
  - (1) **In general—** This chapter supersedes any statute, regulation, or rule of a [State](/usc/15/15g.md?p=2) or political subdivision of a [State](/usc/15/15g.md?p=2) that expressly regulates the use of electronic mail to send commercial messages, except to the extent that any such statute, regulation, or rule prohibits falsity or deception in any portion of a [commercial electronic mail message](/usc/15/7702.md?p=2-A) or information attached thereto.
  - (2) **State law not specific to electronic mail—** This chapter shall not be construed to preempt the applicability of—
    - (A) [State](/usc/15/15g.md?p=2) laws that are not specific to electronic mail, including [State](/usc/15/15g.md?p=2) trespass, contract, or tort law; or
    - (B) other [State](/usc/15/15g.md?p=2) laws to the extent that those laws relate to acts of fraud or computer crime.
- (c) **No effect on policies of providers of Internet access service—** Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to have any effect on the lawfulness or unlawfulness, under any other provision of law, of the adoption, implementation, or enforcement by a provider of [Internet access service](/usc/15/7702.md?p=11) of a policy of declining to transmit, route, relay, handle, or store certain types of [electronic mail messages](/usc/15/7702.md?p=6).

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 108–187, § 8, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2716.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 108–187, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2699, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7701 of this title and Tables.

### 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.