The U.S. Department of Justice has said that the federal Can-Spam Act does not supersede Utah's so-called child protection registry act, and that the state's Do Not Email registry does not infringe on free speech.

The move is a massive blow to efforts to have Utah's Do Not Email law overturned, and it leaves the biggest argument against the registry unaddressed, writes Direct Magazine (via MediaBuyerPlanner). The lawsuit has been filed by the Free Speech Coalition; although mainstream marketers aren't taking part in that porn group's suit, advertising trade groups are hoping it wins this battle.

The Justice Department's weighing in on the side of the registry is not good news for those groups, but Justice failed to address the Free Speech Coalition's argument that Utah's Do Not Email registry poses an unconstitutional interference with interstate trade, according to the article.

The first hearing in the case, before Judge Dale Kimball in U.S. District Court in Utah, will take place today (Nov. 9).