The report from the Department of Consumer Protection recommends a bill similar to a law facing a constitutional challenge from the Free Speech Coalition in Utah.
Utah’s registry allows parents and others to register email addresses to which minors have "access," and then prohibits emails from being sent to them from anywhere in the world that advertise "harmful matter" or products or services minors cannot purchase.
Emailers can pay Unspam Registries, a private company, to scrub their lists at a cost of a 1/2 cent for every name listed, according to the registry’s rules.
If the report becomes law, Connecticut would join Utah and Michigan as the third state to establish a registry allowing parents to place their children’s email addresses and cell phone numbers on do-not-email and do-not-call lists.
State Rep. Michael Lawlor said the report sounded good in theory, but questioned whether such a bill would be practical.
“If it's not actually going to work very well, what would be the point of doing it?” Lawlor asked.
Governor Jodi Rell proposed the idea in her budget last year. Her spokesman said she still supports a registry.
“Gov. Rell believes we have an obligation to protect minors from commercial messages that are inappropriate to their age, commercial messages that solicit them to buy items that they are already precluded by law from buying — like pornography, illegal drugs, firearms and other weapons,” said Adam Liegeot, a spokesman for Rell. “The governor feels that a registry can be created which insures the privacy of both registrants and senders while providing real benefits to law enforcement.”
Lawmakers are expected to draft a bill sometime during the current legislative session.
The report recommends that a private firm, such as Unspam Registries, be tapped to run the operation in Connecticut, should the state decide to pass such a law.
FSC Board Chairman Jeffrey Douglas told XBIZ that the trade association would look to do some preliminary lobbying to educate lawmakers on the failings of such a proposal.
According to Douglas, the success of the FSC’s lobbying effort hinges greatly on whether the trade group is able to secure an injunction in the Utah case.
“We’re reasonably optimistic about the Utah case,” Douglas said. “Hopefully we can win an injunction there, which will create a disincentive for other states to proceed with such laws. But this new proposal highlights the dangers of registries such as Unspam, which could seek to sell this idea to states and even counties.”
Douglas said he expects a ruling on the request for a preliminary injunction in the Utah case soon.