The following is a simplified outline of this Act:

* This Act sets up a scheme for regulating commercial e-mail and other types of commercial electronic messages.

* Unsolicited commercial electronic messages must not be sent.

* Commercial electronic messages must include information about the individual or organisation who authorised the sending of the message.

* Commercial electronic messages must contain a functional unsubscribe facility.

* Address-harvesting software must not be supplied, acquired or used.

* An electronic address list produced using address-harvesting software must not be supplied, acquired or used.

* The main remedies for breaches of this Act are civil penalties and injunctions.

Note: The Telecommunications Act 1997 contains additional provisions about commercial electronic messages. Those provisions include Part 6 (industry codes and standards), Part 26 (investigations), Part 27 (information-gathering powers) and Part 28 (enforcement).