Spam: free speech?

Jeremy Jaynes may not be in the wheelhouse of high profile criminals like Al Capone or Charles Manson, but his name sure has gained some level of notoriety, at least in Virginia. As a recent Associated Press put it, Jaynes is arguably "one of the world's most prolific spammers."

Jaynes was taken into custody but the Virginia Supreme Court overturned his conviction on September 12, saying that "the state's anti-spam law [was] unconstitutional." The court ruled that the law infringed on free-speech rights, especially because the law also prohibited the transmission of "unsolicited emails" from religious and political institutions.

The plaintiffs in the case were disappointed with the ruling, contending that spam mails were essentially an invasion of privacy "because the Virginia law bars trespassing on privately owned e-mail servers through phony e-mail routing and transmission information." Associated Press reported that Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell is planning to bring the lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

My opinion? McDonnell should have won the case. Email addresses are private property. Obtaining such information without owners knowing about it should be a federal crime. I agree that people have a right to free speech, whether it means selling something or simply spreading their political or religious ideas, but we have to do it in a civilized manner. We have to do it in such a way that we are not using shady methods to intrude into the private property of citizens.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080912/ap_on_hi_te/anti_spam_law;_ylt=AqPmZDG4EIs0F.ZV.qUolDkjtBAF