Tex. Business & Commerce Code § 321.001
This is the official text of Tex. Business & Commerce Code § 321.001, part of Texas’s Business & Commerce Code — governs commercial transactions and general business practices.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 321.001. DEFINITIONS.
Official statutory text
In this chapter:
(1) "Commercial electronic mail message" means an electronic mail message that advertises, offers for sale or lease, or promotes any goods, services, business opportunity, property, or other article, commodity, or thing of value.
(2) "Electronic mail" means a message, file, or other information that is transmitted through a local, regional, or global computer network, regardless of whether the message, file, or information is viewed, stored for retrieval at a later time, printed, or filtered by a computer program that is designed or intended to filter or screen the message, file, or information.
(3) "Electronic mail service provider" means a person who:
(A) is authorized to transact business in this state;
(B) is an intermediary in transmitting or receiving electronic mail; and
(C) provides to an end user of an electronic mail service the ability to transmit or receive electronic mail.
(4) "Established business relationship" means a relationship that:
(A) is formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person and another person, regardless of whether consideration is exchanged;
(B) pertains to a product or service offered by one of the persons; and
(C) has not been terminated by either person.
(4-a) "Malicious computer code" means an unwanted computer program or other set of instructions inserted into a computer's memory, operating system, or program that:
(A) is specifically constructed with the ability to replicate itself or to affect the other programs or files in the computer by attaching a copy of the unwanted program or other set of instructions to one or more computer programs or files; or
(B) is intended to perform an unauthorized process that will adversely impact the confidentiality of information contained in or the integrity or availability of the computer's memory, operating system, or program.
(5) "Obscene" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.21, Penal Code.
(6) "Sender" means a person who initiates an electronic mail message.
(7) "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.25, Penal Code.
(8) "Unsolicited commercial electronic mail message" means a commercial electronic mail message transmitted without the consent of the recipient by a person with whom the recipient does not have an established business relationship. The term does not include electronic mail transmitted by an organization using electronic mail to communicate exclusively with members, employees, or contractors of the organization.
(1) "Commercial electronic mail message" means an electronic mail message that advertises, offers for sale or lease, or promotes any goods, services, business opportunity, property, or other article, commodity, or thing of value.
(2) "Electronic mail" means a message, file, or other information that is transmitted through a local, regional, or global computer network, regardless of whether the message, file, or information is viewed, stored for retrieval at a later time, printed, or filtered by a computer program that is designed or intended to filter or screen the message, file, or information.
(3) "Electronic mail service provider" means a person who:
(A) is authorized to transact business in this state;
(B) is an intermediary in transmitting or receiving electronic mail; and
(C) provides to an end user of an electronic mail service the ability to transmit or receive electronic mail.
(4) "Established business relationship" means a relationship that:
(A) is formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person and another person, regardless of whether consideration is exchanged;
(B) pertains to a product or service offered by one of the persons; and
(C) has not been terminated by either person.
(4-a) "Malicious computer code" means an unwanted computer program or other set of instructions inserted into a computer's memory, operating system, or program that:
(A) is specifically constructed with the ability to replicate itself or to affect the other programs or files in the computer by attaching a copy of the unwanted program or other set of instructions to one or more computer programs or files; or
(B) is intended to perform an unauthorized process that will adversely impact the confidentiality of information contained in or the integrity or availability of the computer's memory, operating system, or program.
(5) "Obscene" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.21, Penal Code.
(6) "Sender" means a person who initiates an electronic mail message.
(7) "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.25, Penal Code.
(8) "Unsolicited commercial electronic mail message" means a commercial electronic mail message transmitted without the consent of the recipient by a person with whom the recipient does not have an established business relationship. The term does not include electronic mail transmitted by an organization using electronic mail to communicate exclusively with members, employees, or contractors of the organization.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a business matter in Texas?
See all Texas Business lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.