Associate Press: Anti-spam bill passes state Senate committee

Internet users could sue e-mail marketing firms $500 for each piece of unsolicited advertising "spam'' under a Senate bill that cleared its first legislative hurdle Monday.

The bill, touted as a model to fight "offensive'' unwanted e-mail nationally, passed the Senate's Business and Professions Committee despite widespread opposition from the nation's Internet establishment.

"AOL and Microsoft argue there is a place for legitimate unsolicited e-mail in the marketplace,'' said Marc Berejka, Microsoft's senior director of public policy. He and others argued the bill "unwittingly snares'' valid businesses using a fast-emerging and inexpensive form of advertising.