Federal preemption is a doctrine in law that allows a federal law to take precedence over or to displace a state law in certain matters of national importance (such as interstate commerce). The doctrine is based on the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which declares that federal law is the “supreme law of the land” and that state judges are bound by it. There are two types of federal preemption: express and implied. Express preemption occurs when Congress expressly states that a federal law is intended to preempt certain types of state legislation. Implied preemption occurs when a state law conflicts with federal law because it is impossible to comply with both at the same time, or because it interferes with the objectives of the federal law, or because the federal government has fully occupied the field of regulation.
The U.S. Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act is an example of express preemption. The Act regulates commercial email messages and establishes requirements for senders and penalties for violations. The Act also explicitly preempts any state law that “expressly regulates the use of electronic mail to send commercial messages”, except for state laws that prohibit falsity or deception. This means that states cannot pass laws that impose greater obligations on senders of email marketing than the federal law, such as requiring opt-in consent or providing additional opt-out mechanisms. Therefore, the CAN-SPAM Act is the correct answer to the question.
The other options are not examples of federal preemption. The Payment Card Industry’s (PCI) ability to self-regulate and enforce data security standards for payment card data is not a federal law, but a private sector initiative. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ability to enforce against unfair and deceptive trade practices across sectors and industries is not a preemption of state law, but a concurrent power that can coexist with state consumer protection laws. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) regulating businesses that have no physical brick-and-mortal presence in California, but which do business there, is not preempted by any federal law, but is a state law that applies to entities that meet certain criteria of collecting or selling personal information of California residents. References: Federal preemption, What is Federal Preemption?, Federal preemption Definition & Meaning, preemption, Preemption legal definition of Preemption, CAN-SPAM Act, IAPP CIPP/US Study Guide, Chapter 2.
