Hi, On 23 Aug 2001, at 11:09, Frank Steiner wrote:
All according laws I'm aware of only refer to so-called spam email where the only (or main) intention is the sending of an advertisement. In this case, the intention of the mail was definitely different and the advertisement was only an addendum. So at least European laws do not prohibit this.
the Austrian law says:"E-Mail messages .... for advertisement purposes that do not have the prior consent of the subscriber are not permittet." You can find the (german) text at:"http://www.parlament.gv.at/pd/pm/XX/I/texte/020/I02064_.html". There is no indication that the intention of the message might be relevant. There is no pending judication however, so that may change. From the current point of view the sender of such messages/user of such providers is in risk to be fined with up to about USD 15.000,-- as might be the owner of this mailing list making it a possible security problem (security from acting illegal). This is not a question about two lines (summed up by probably many millions of messages a day or more), but a question of principles. And be aware, that a company is selling software to include more advertisements than just the two lines. See:"http://www.revanetworks.com/reva/corporate/admail/admail.ht ml" for reference. Discussions on the webboard of the austrian judges association resulted in the conclusion, that the sender (the customer) is liable for this. I just wanted to mention that as an information and warning for those who are not informed jet (and the list admins) to take measures to protect themselves. Further discussion is out of the scope of this list I think. HTH mike