Legal Definitions - Ohio

Ohio has laws that regulate commercial email, spam, telemarketing, and fax anti-solicitation. These laws are in place to protect consumers from unwanted and unsolicited messages.

Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.64 prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial email, also known as spam. In the case of Ferron v. EchoStar Satellite, 727 F. Supp. 2d 647 (S.D. Ohio 2009), the court ruled that the defendant had violated this law by sending unsolicited emails to the plaintiff.

Ohio Rev. Code § 109.87 gives the Attorney General the power to regulate telemarketing and other forms of telephonic anti-solicitation. This means that companies cannot make unsolicited phone calls to consumers in Ohio without their consent. Ohio Rev. Code §§ 4719.01 et seq. also provide additional regulations for telemarketing practices.

Ohio Rev. Code § 4931.75 prohibits the sending of unsolicited faxes for the purpose of solicitation. This means that companies cannot send faxes to consumers in Ohio without their consent.

For example, if a company sends an unsolicited email to a consumer in Ohio promoting their products or services, they would be violating Ohio's commercial email and spam law. Similarly, if a telemarketer calls a consumer in Ohio without their consent, they would be violating Ohio's telemarketing and telephonic anti-solicitation laws. Finally, if a company sends an unsolicited fax to a consumer in Ohio for the purpose of solicitation, they would be violating Ohio's fax anti-solicitation law.