S. 788: m-SPAM Act of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-04-02 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-04-02 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

m-SPAM Act of 2009

Plain summary

m-SPAM Act of 2009 - Amends the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 to exclude a message from the definition of "mobile service commercial message" (MSCM) if the message's purpose is to: (1) facilitate or confirm a commercial transaction; (2) provide warranty, recall, safety, or security information about a product or service used by the recipient; (3) provide certain information to message recipients who have an ongoing commercial relationship with the sender; (4) provide information relating to the recipient's benefit plan or employment; or (5) deliver goods or services to which the recipient is entitled. Amends that Act and the Communications Act of 1934 to exempt from a prohibition on sending unwanted MSCMs: (1) the sending of short messaging service (SMS) messages from one wireless device to another or from a mobile service provider to its subscribers at no charge; and (2) the sending of MSCMs by a mobile service provider to its subscribers at no charge (unless a subscriber has opted out). Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to revise the do-not-call registry provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule to: (1) consider commercial mobile service messaging practices that are costly or a nuisance to consumers; and (2) explicitly prohibit, as an abusive telemarketing act or practice, the sending of any MSCM to a telephone number that is both assigned to a commercial mobile service and listed on the do-not-call registry. Exempts such messages sent by a commercial mobile service provider to its subscribers at no charge.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

m-SPAM Act of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Exemption: A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s788.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s788 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111