(1) The department may bring an action for damages or for declaratory or injunctive relief or may impose a civil penalty as provided in s. 668.6075. A cause of action, without regard to any other remedy or relief to which a person is entitled, including the right to seek declaratory and injunctive relief against a person who initiates or assists in the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message that violates, has violated, or is otherwise likely to violate s. 668.603, is also available to an interactive computer service, telephone company, or cable provider that handles or retransmits the commercial electronic mail message.
(2) This part does not create a cause of action or provide for criminal charges against an interactive computer service, customer premise equipment provider, communications service provider, or cable provider whose equipment is used to transport, handle, or retransmit a commercial electronic mail message that violates s. 668.603.
(3) A prevailing plaintiff in an action filed under this part is entitled to:

(a) An injunction to enjoin future violations of s. 668.603.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 668.606

  • Commercial electronic mail message: means an electronic mail message sent to promote the sale or lease of, or investment in, property, goods, or services related to any trade or commerce. See Florida Statutes 668.602
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the Department of Legal Affairs. See Florida Statutes 668.602
  • Electronic mail message: means an electronic message or computer file that is transmitted between two or more telecommunications devices; computers; computer networks, regardless of whether the network is a local, regional, or global network; or electronic devices capable of receiving electronic messages, regardless of whether the message is converted to hard copy format after receipt, viewed upon transmission, or stored for later retrieval. See Florida Statutes 668.602
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Interactive computer service: means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically, but not limited to, a service or system that provides access to the Internet and the systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions. See Florida Statutes 668.602
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Person: means any individual, group of individuals, firm, association, corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, or any other business entity. See Florida Statutes 668.602
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Unsolicited commercial electronic mail message: means any commercial electronic mail message that is not a transactional or relationship message and is sent to a recipient without the recipient's affirmative or implied consent. See Florida Statutes 668.602
(b) Compensatory damages equal to any actual damage proven by the plaintiff to have resulted from the initiation of the unsolicited commercial electronic mail message or liquidated damages of $500 for each unsolicited commercial electronic mail message that violates s. 668.603.
(c) The plaintiff’s attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in connection with the action.
(4) Any person outside this state who initiates or assists in the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message received in this state which violates s. 668.603 and who knows, or should have known, that the commercial electronic mail message will be received in this state submits to the jurisdiction of this state for purposes of this part.
(5) An action under this section must be commenced within 4 years following the date of any activity prohibited by s. 668.603.
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