Effective 28 Aug 2003

407.1135. Definitions. — As used in sections 407.1135 to 407.1141, the following words and phrases mean:

(1) "Commercial electronic mail", an electronic mail message sent for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services;

(2) "Electronic mail address", a destination, commonly expressed as a sequence of characters, to which commercial electronic mail may be sent or delivered;

(3) "Established business relationship", an existing relationship formed by a voluntary communication between a person or entity and the recipient with or without an exchange of consideration, on the basis of an inquiry, application, purchase, or use by the recipient regarding products or services offered by such person or entity;

(4) "Initiate the transmission", the action by the original sender of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail solicitation that results in receipt by a subscriber of that solicitation, including commercial electronic mail received by a subscriber which was sent by a third party at the request of or direction of the original sender;

(5) "Subscriber", any person, corporation, partnership, or other entity who has subscribed to an interactive computer service and has been designated with one or more electronic mail addresses;

(6) "Unsolicited commercial electronic mail", a commercial electronic mail message sent without the consent of the recipient, by a person with whom the recipient does not have an established business relationship, other than:

(a) A commercial electronic mail message responding to an inquiry from a subscriber who has requested further information and provided a commercial electronic mail address;

(b) A commercial electronic mail message initiated by a person licensed by the state of Missouri to carry out a trade, occupation, or profession who is setting or attempting to set an appointment for actions related to that licensed trade, occupation, or profession;

(c) A commercial electronic mail message sent to a subscriber that was in an established business relationship with the sender, including a parent or subsidiary business organization of the sender that shares the same brand name, within the previous twenty-four months unless the recipient requests to be removed from the entity's electronic mail list in accordance with section 407.1123;

(d) A commercial electronic mail communication sent to a subscriber from an original sender which is a bank, farm credit service, or credit union shall not be considered unsolicited commercial electronic mail for purposes of sections 407.1135 to 407.1141;

(e) A commercial electronic mail message that is sent to a subscriber from an original sender who has a personal relationship with the subscriber; or

(f) A commercial electronic mail message from the original sender that is indirectly received by a subscriber when another subscriber voluntarily forwards that communication without the knowledge of the original sender and without any consideration provided by the original sender to the subscriber forwarding the communication.

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(L. 2003 H.B. 228)