Privacy Law Library

Maryland Commercial Electronic Mail Act

MD Commercial Email Act

Marketing

Maryland's anti-spam law prohibits sending commercial email that uses a third party's domain or address without permission, falsifies its origin or transmission path, or has a deceptive subject line. Email providers may block suspected violating messages without liability.

Where

Maryland

Citation

Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 14-3001 to 14-3003

Status

In force

Enforced by

Private civil actions by recipients, domain owners, and interactive computer service providers (14-3003)

People can sue

Yes

Penalties

Violators are liable for attorney's fees and the greater of actual damages or $500 per recipient, $500 per third party whose domain or address was misused, or $1,000 per interactive computer service provider (14-3003).

Applies to

• Persons who initiate, conspire in, or assist transmission of commercial email from a Maryland computer or to an address the sender knows or should know belongs to a Maryland resident; carriers that merely transmit are excluded (14-3002(a)-(c))