The "Can-Spam" law went into effect January 1.  It is the first federal law regulating "spam," a move that its supporters say will be a major step in the war against e-mail solicitations for pornography, Viagra, diet-pills, get-rich-quick schemes and approaches for sales of other products.

But critics aren't so sure this "Can-Spam" law will do the job.  They scoff that e-mail users will be unlikely to see a decline in the volume of junk in their in-boxes as a result of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, as it is formally titled.

Congress overwhelmingly approved the legislation earlier in December, after more than six years of unsuccessful attempts to enact a law to interrupt the flood of commercial e-mail.  With Pres. Bush's signature, a complex set of rules is taking effect to govern how companies may communicate with customers they already know, and with people they don't.  Falsified e-mail headers could be punished with prison terms, as could sending "sexually oriented" e-mail that is not properly labeled.  The Federal Trade Commission receives new enforcement authority and could choose to set up a "do not e-mail" list similar to the Commission's wildly popular National Do Not Call registry.

The law has raised alarm among some "spam" fighters because it would legalize sending nonfraudulent spam, and zap state laws that in some cases prohibit that practice.  At least 34 states have slapped regulations on bulk e-mail, with some jurisdictions going much farther than the feds.  Washington state gives e-mail recipients the right to sue spammers, while California and Delaware have mandated an "opt-in" approach that prohibits unsolicited commercial e-mail without a prior business relationship.