A constitutional challenge to Utah's child e-mail protection registry statute passed away quietly in its sleep late last week. A federal district court in Utah dismissed the case Sept. 30, several days after receiving a stipulation from all parties consenting to its dismissal.
The Utah Child Protection Registry Act, Utah Code Section 13-39-101, allows parents to register their children's "contact points" with a state registry. Essentially, the Utah law is a "do not email" statute for kids. It is unlawful to send a commercial message to a contact point that has been on the registry for more than 30 days.
Way back in 2005, a group known as the Free Speech Coalition challenged the law on First Amendment, CAN-SPAM preemption, Supremacy Clause, and dormant Commerce Clause grounds. The district court ruled in 2007 that the plaintiffs were not likely to prevail on their constitutional claims, denying a request for an injunction. The plaintiffs did not appeal to the Tenth Circuit, and the case has not been actively litigated since then.
The particulars of the lawsuit are set out in defendant Unspam Registry Services Inc.'s motion to dismiss the case, filed Sept. 3.
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