(

a) It is unlawful for any person or entity to advertise in a commercial e-mail advertisement either sent from California or sent to a California electronic mail address under any of the following circumstances:

(1) The e-mail advertisement contains or is accompanied by a third-party’s domain name without the permission of the third party.

(2) The e-mail advertisement contains or is accompanied by falsified, misrepresented, or forged header information. This paragraph does not apply to truthful information used by a third party who has been lawfully authorized by the advertiser to use that information.

(3) The e-mail advertisement has a subject line that a person knows would be likely to mislead a recipient, acting reasonably under the circumstances, about a material fact regarding the contents or subject matter of the message. (b) (1) (

A) In addition to any other remedies provided by any other provision of law, the following may bring an action against a person or entity that violates any provision of this section: (

i) The Attorney General. (ii) An electronic mail service provider. (iii) A recipient of an unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement, as defined in

Section 17529.1. (

B) A person or entity bringing an action pursuant to subparagraph (

A) may recover either or both of the following: (

i) Actual damages. (ii) Liquidated damages of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement transmitted in violation of this section, up to one million dollars ($1,000,000) per incident. (

C) The recipient, an electronic mail service provider, or the Attorney General, if the prevailing plaintiff, may also recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. (

D) However, there shall not be a cause of action under this

section against an electronic mail service provider that is only involved in the routine transmission of the e-mail advertisement over its computer network.

(2) If the court finds that the defendant established and implemented, with due care, practices and procedures reasonably designed to effectively prevent unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisements that are in violation of this section, the court shall reduce the liquidated damages recoverable under paragraph (1) to a maximum of one hundred dollars ($100) for each unsolicited commercial e-mail advertisement, or a maximum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per incident. (3) (

A) A person who has brought an action against a party under this

section shall not bring an action against that party under

Section 17529.8 or 17538.45 for the same commercial e-mail advertisement, as defined in subdivision (

c) of

Section 17529.1. (

B) A person who has brought an action against a party under

Section 17529.8 or 17538.45 shall not bring an action against that party under this

section for the same commercial e-mail advertisement, as defined in subdivision (

c) of

Section 17529.1. (

c) A violation of this

section is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months, or both that fine and imprisonment.