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Texas Business & Commerce Code - Section 46.011. Qualified Immunity

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Business & Commerce Code > Texas Business & Commerce Code - Section 46.011. Qualified Immunity

§ 46.011. QUALIFIED IMMUNITY.  (a) In this section, 
"telecommunications utility" has the meaning assigned by Section 
51.002, Utilities Code.
	(b)  A telecommunications utility or an electronic mail 
service provider may not be held liable under Section 46.002 or 
46.003 and is not subject to the penalties provided under this 
chapter.
	(c)  A person injured by a violation of this chapter does not 
have a cause of action against a telecommunications utility or an 
electronic mail service provider under this chapter solely because 
the utility or provider:
		(1)  is an intermediary between the sender, or any 
person acting on behalf of the sender, and the recipient in the 
transmission of electronic mail that violates this chapter;
		(2)  provides transmission, routing, relaying, 
handling, or storing, through an automatic technical process, of an 
unsolicited commercial electronic mail message through the 
utility's or provider's computer network or facilities;  or
		(3)  provides telecommunications services, information 
services, or other services used in the transmission of an 
electronic mail message that violates this chapter.
	(d)  An electronic mail service provider that provides for a 
dispute resolution process as described by Section 46.010 may not 
be held liable for blocking the receipt or transmission through its 
service of any commercial electronic mail message that the provider 
reasonably believes is or will be sent in violation of this chapter.
	(e)  A person may not be held liable under this chapter for a 
commercial electronic mail message that is sent as a result of an 
error or accidental transmission.
	(f)  A sender may not be held liable for the transmission of 
an electronic mail message that violates this chapter if the 
sender:
		(1)  contracts in good faith with an electronic mail 
service provider to transmit electronic mail messages for the 
sender;  and
		(2)  has no reason to believe the electronic mail 
service provider will transmit any of the sender's messages in a 
manner that violates this chapter.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1053, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.          

Last modified: August 10, 2007