Many in the US are now openly critical of the Can Spam Anti-Spam laws enacted nationally a month or two ago. For a start, they supercede the most stringent laws already in place in states like California. For example, under state law in many states, people have the right to sue spammers, a right not available in the national law.

“(Can-Spam) is an abomination at the federal level,” said Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig … “It’s ineffective and it’s affirmatively harmful because it preempts state legislation.”