For the purpose of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Advertiser” means a person or entity that advertises through the use of commercial e-mail advertisements.
(b) “California electronic mail address” or “California e-mail address” means any of the following:
(1) An e-mail address furnished by an electronic mail service provider that sends bills for furnishing and maintaining that e-mail address to a mailing address in this state.
(2) An e-mail address ordinarily accessed from a computer located in this state.
(3) An e-mail address furnished to a resident of this state.
(c) “Commercial e-mail advertisement” means any electronic mail message initiated for the purpose of advertising or promoting the lease, sale, rental, gift offer, or other disposition of any property, goods, services, or extension of credit.
(d) “Direct consent” means that the recipient has expressly consented to receive e-mail advertisements from the advertiser, either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for the consent or at the recipient’s own initiative.
(e) “Domain name” means any alphanumeric designation that is registered with or assigned by any domain name registrar as part of an electronic address on the Internet.
(f) “Electronic mail” or “e-mail” means an electronic message that is sent to an e-mail address and transmitted between two or more telecommunications devices, computers, or electronic devices capable of receiving electronic messages, whether or not the message is converted to hard copy format after receipt, viewed upon transmission, or stored for later retrieval. “Electronic mail” or “e-mail” includes electronic messages that are transmitted through a local, regional, or global computer network.
(g) “Electronic mail address” or “e-mail address” means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, to which electronic mail can be sent or delivered. An “electronic mail address” or “e-mail address” consists of a user name or mailbox and a reference to an Internet domain.
(h) “Electronic mail service provider” means any person, including an Internet service provider, that is an intermediary in sending or receiving electronic mail or that provides to end users of the electronic mail service the ability to send or receive electronic mail.
(i) “Initiate” means to transmit or cause to be transmitted a commercial e-mail advertisement or assist in the transmission of a commercial e-mail advertisement by providing electronic mail addresses where the advertisement may be sent, but does not include the routine transmission of the advertisement through the network or system of a telecommunications utility or an electronic mail service provider through its network or system.
(j) “Incident” means a single transmission or delivery to a single recipient or to multiple recipients of an unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement containing substantially similar content.
(k) “Internet” has the meaning set forth in paragraph (6) of subdivision (e) of Section 17538.
(l) “Preexisting or current business relationship,” as used in connection with the sending of a commercial e-mail advertisement, means that the recipient has made an inquiry and has provided his or her e-mail address, or has made an application, purchase, or transaction, with or without consideration, regarding products or services offered by the advertiser.
Commercial e-mail advertisements sent pursuant to the exemption provided for a preexisting or current business relationship shall provide the recipient of the commercial e-mail advertisement with the ability to “opt-out” from receiving further commercial e-mail advertisements by calling a toll-free telephone number or by sending an “unsubscribe” e-mail to the advertiser offering the products or services in the commercial e-mail advertisement. This opt-out provision does not apply to recipients who are receiving free e-mail service with regard to commercial e-mail advertisements sent by the provider of the e-mail service.
(m) “Recipient” means the addressee of an unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement. If an addressee of an unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement has one or more e-mail addresses to which an unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement is sent, the addressee shall be deemed to be a separate recipient for each e-mail address to which the e-mail advertisement is sent.
(n) “Routine transmission” means the transmission, routing, relaying, handling, or storing of an electronic mail message through an automatic technical process. “Routine transmission” shall not include the sending, or the knowing participation in the sending, of unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisements.
(o) “Unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement” means a commercial e-mail advertisement sent to a recipient who meets both of the following criteria:
(1) The recipient has not provided direct consent to receive advertisements from the advertiser.
(2) The recipient does not have a preexisting or current business relationship, as defined in subdivision (l), with the advertiser promoting the lease, sale, rental, gift offer, or other disposition of any property, goods, services, or extension of credit.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 14. Effective January 1, 2005.)