Commercial email advertisements (anti-spam) and unsolicited text message ads
Anti-spam (17529.5, 17538.41)
Marketing
Bars commercial email advertising that uses a third party's domain without permission, falsified or forged headers, or misleading subject lines, and lets recipients, email providers, and the AG sue. A separate provision bars unsolicited text message advertisements to California mobile numbers except with consent or a business relationship. Much of the broader state spam law is preempted by the federal CAN-SPAM Act, but these deception-based rules remain.
- Where
- California
- Citation
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17529-17529.9; 17538.41
- Status
- In force
- Last amended
- 2006-01-01
- Enforced by
- California Attorney General; email service providers; recipients
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Actual damages and/or liquidated damages of $1,000 per email, up to $1,000,000 per incident, plus fees (reduced for due-care compliance programs); misdemeanor up to $1,000 and six months (17529.5(b)-(c)).
- Applies to
- Advertisers in commercial email sent from California or to California email addresses
- Persons sending text message advertisements to California residents' mobile numbers
Practices it requires
- Do not advertise in commercial email that uses a third party's domain name without permission, contains falsified or forged header information, or has a misleading subject line.Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17529.5(a)
- Do not send unsolicited text message advertisements to California mobile numbers unless an exception (such as consent or an existing relationship with opt-out) applies.Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17538.41(a)
Sources
- Official text
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17529.5 (California Legislative Information)
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17538.41
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Exceptions in 17538.41(b)-(e) not read in full. | CAN-SPAM preemption scope is from background knowledge.
Research reference, not legal advice.