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Federal Commercial E-Mail Legislation
On Tuesday, December 16, 2003, President Bush signed S. 877, the Controlling the Assault of
Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, or the "CAN-SPAM Act of 2003"
("Act"). The Act creates a single national standard designed to control the growing problem of
deceptive or fraudulent commercial e-mail.
This legislation was largely sought by retailers, marketers and Internet account providers seeking
a single set of rules that would apply nationwide and preempt 35 state spam laws.
The Act does not ban commercial e-mails but rather outlines a series of practices that must be
followed when sending commercial e-mails. The Act does ban certain fraudulent or deceptive
practices and criminalizes techniques used by spammers to avoid detection. The Act also calls
upon the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") to prepare a report to Congress within 6 months
containing a plan and timetable for creating a Do-Not-E-mail ("DNE") Registry and addressing
the feasibility, problems and issues involved in the creation of such a Registry. The Act does not
require the FTC to create a DNE Registry.
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Raise Loan Limits
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set new conforming loan limit is now $333,700 effective January 1,
2004. This is a 3.4% rise from a limit of $322,700 last year. The companies adjust their
conforming loan limits annually based on October-to-October changes in the average home price,
as published by the Federal Housing Finance Board. With the change, some 95,000 homebuyers
could save up to $21,900 over the life of a 30-year mortgage, says Fannie Mae.
Realtor Magazine - January 2004
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