Washington has amended its Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) for the first time since the statute was enacted in 1998. The changes—passed as Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2274 and now in effect—add a knowledge requirement for misleading subject-line claims and cut one category of statutory damages from $500 to $100. They apply to lawsuits filed on or after June 11, 2026.
Background: Why the Legislature Acted
CEMA (RCW 19.190) has regulated commercial email in Washington since 1998. Among other things, it prohibits sending a commercial email—from a computer in Washington, or to an address the sender knows or has reason to know belongs to a Washington resident—that uses a false or misleading subject line. A CEMA violation is also a per se violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.
For years, the statute produced relatively little litigation. That changed in April 2025, when the Washington Supreme Court decided Brown v. Old Navy, LLC. The court held that CEMA prohibits any false or misleading information in a commercial email subject line—regardless of whether the recipient was actually deceived, relied on the statement, or suffered any harm. More than 100 CEMA lawsuits followed over the next year, many of them class actions. HB 2274 is the Legislature’s response.
What Changed
Washington enacted Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2274 as chapter 135, Laws of 2026. Two changes stand out:
- A knowledge requirement. A subject line is now actionable only if, based on the sender’s actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied from objective circumstances, it contains false or misleading information. That restores a mental-state element that Brown had effectively read out of the statute.
- Lower statutory damages. Statutory damages available to a recipient drop from $500 to $100 per violation (or actual damages, whichever is greater). Damages available to an interactive computer service remain $1,000 per violation.
The amendment applies to all causes of action commenced on or after June 11, 2026, regardless of when the underlying conduct occurred. That timing rule triggered a rush of filings before the effective date, as plaintiffs sought to lock in the old $500 standard and its no-knowledge framework.
Why It Matters
Washington did not repeal its commercial email restrictions—it recalibrated them. The knowledge requirement gives senders a defense that Brown had foreclosed: what the sender actually knew, what the campaign-approval process documented, and whether the circumstances objectively implied knowledge that a subject line was misleading are now squarely in play.
The damages reduction matters too, but lower statutory damages are not the same as no exposure. CEMA damages are calculated per email, per recipient, so class-action math still adds up quickly—a 1,000-member class that each received ten offending emails represents $1 million in exposure even at the reduced $100 rate. And because a CEMA violation remains a per se violation of the Consumer Protection Act, a plaintiff may still pursue actual damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and treble damages of up to $25,000. A misleading subject line also carries brand and regulatory risk that no statutory-damages figure captures.
The statute’s reach is broad. Because it covers messages sent to any address the sender knows, or has reason to know, is held by a Washington resident, this is not only a concern for Washington-based companies—national campaigns can create Washington-specific exposure. Similar commercial-email laws in other states add further risk.
What Businesses Should Do Now
- Update campaign-review checklists so subject lines are tested for literal accuracy, not just marketing appeal.
- Keep records of approvals, audience targeting, and source data, since later litigation may turn on what the sender actually knew.
- Review contracts with agencies and email-platform vendors so Washington compliance duties—and indemnities—are assigned clearly.
- Treat subject-line accuracy as a trust-and-safety issue: if a line feels tricky, it is often risky well before a lawyer gets involved.
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