Federal and state courts in Washington have seen dozens of new cases alleging violations of Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) in recent years. In light of this increased CEMA litigation, the state legislature enacted the first major amendment to CEMA since the law’s enactment in 1998. Effective since mid-June 2026, these amendments change the requirements to state a claim under CEMA and the statutory damages available for violations of the statute.
What is CEMA?
Among other things, CEMA prohibits the transmission of a “commercial electronic mail message” or a “commercial electronic text message” to Washington state residents containing false or misleading information in the message’s subject line. RCW 19.190.020(1)(b).
Violations of CEMA can carry significant statutory damages. As originally enacted, violations of CEMA could result in damages amounting to $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater. RCW 19.190.040(1). A violation of CEMA also constitutes a per se violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act. RCW 19.190.030.
What changed?
The 2026 CEMA amendments made two significant changes:
- Knowledge requirement: The amendments impose a higher threshold for CEMA liability as to whether a sender “knew” the subject line was false or misleading. Under the newly amended statute, violative subject lines require actual knowledge or “knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances.” 19.190.020(1)(b).
- Reduction in statutory damages: Statutory damages available for CEMA violations were significantly reduced from $500 to $100.
What do practitioners need to know?
Key takeaways for practitioners include:
- Substantial damage exposure remains: Even with the reduction in statutory damages to $100, potential statutory damages claims can still add up with high volumes of emails to Washington residents, if they are deemed to be violative of CEMA.
- The amendments apply prospectively: The amended CEMA statute is in effect as of June 11, 2026. The law applies prospectively, meaning that future filings will be subject to CEMA’s new knowledge and statutory damages provisions, regardless of when the claim arose. The prior version of the statute governs claims filed before the amendment’s effective date.
- Examine email subject lines: Ensure that email subject lines are independently accurate and defensible, even without reference to the body of the mail.
- Ensure substantiation: Given the changes to the knowledge requirement to state a claim under CEMA, consider methods to substantiate the good-faith basis for the content of the email subject lines.
Ashurst Perkins Coie has extensive experience litigating class-action cases in Washington’s state and federal courts. If you have any questions concerning the developments discussed in this article, please contact members of Ashurst Perkins Coie’s CEMA team.
