1. A person who is injured by a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action seeking relief from a person whose conduct violated this chapter and recover any damages incurred including loss of profits, attorney fees, and court costs.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 716A.6

  • Computer: means the same as defined in section 702. See Iowa Code 716A.1
  • Computer data: means the same as defined in section 702. See Iowa Code 716A.1
  • Computer network: means the same as defined in section 702. See Iowa Code 716A.1
  • Computer program: means an ordered set of data representing coded instructions or statements that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform one or more computer operations. See Iowa Code 716A.1
  • Computer software: means a set of computer programs, procedures, and associated documentation concerned with computer data or with computer operation, a computer program, or a computer network. See Iowa Code 716A.1
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Electronic mail service provider: means a person who does either of the following:
     a. See Iowa Code 716A.1
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • 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.
  • Person: means the same as defined in section 4. See Iowa Code 716A.1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. A person who is injured by the transmission of unsolicited bulk electronic mail in violation of this chapter may elect, in lieu of actual damages, to recover either of the following:

 a. The lesser of ten dollars for each unsolicited bulk electronic mail message transmitted in violation of this chapter, or twenty-five thousand dollars per day the messages are transmitted by the violator.
 b. One dollar for each intended recipient of an unsolicited bulk electronic mail message where the intended recipient is an end user of the electronic mail service provider, or twenty-five thousand dollars for each day an attempt is made to transmit an unsolicited bulk electronic mail message to an end user of the electronic mail service provider.
 3. a. A violation of this chapter is a violation of section 714.16, subsection 2, paragraph “a”. All the powers conferred upon the attorney general to accomplish the objectives and carry out the duties prescribed pursuant to section 714.16 are also conferred upon the attorney general to enforce this chapter, including, but not limited to, the power to issue subpoenas, adopt rules which shall have the force of law, and seek injunctive relief and civil penalties.

 b. In seeking reimbursement pursuant to section 714.16, subsection 7, from a person who has committed a violation of this chapter, the attorney general may seek an order from the court that the person pay to the attorney general on behalf of consumers the amounts for which the person would be liable under subsection 1 or 2, for each consumer who has a cause of action pursuant to this section. Section 714.16, as it relates to consumer reimbursement, shall apply to consumer reimbursement pursuant to this section.
 4. At the request of any party to an action brought pursuant to this section, the court may, in its discretion, conduct all legal proceedings in such a way as to protect the secrecy and security of the computer, computer network, computer data, computer program, and computer software involved in order to prevent possible recurrence of the same or a similar act by another person, and to protect any trade secrets of any party and in such a way as to protect the privacy of nonparties who complain about violations pursuant to this section.
 5. This section shall not be construed to limit a person’s right to pursue any additional civil remedy otherwise allowed by law.
 6. An action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced before the earlier of five years after the last act in the course of conduct constituting a violation of this chapter or two years after the injured person discovers or reasonably should have discovered the last act in the course of conduct constituting a violation of this chapter.
 7. Personal jurisdiction may be exercised over any person who engages in any conduct in this state governed by this chapter.
 8. The injured person shall not have a cause of action against the electronic mail service provider that merely transmits the unsolicited bulk electronic mail over its computer network.
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