Antispam Legislation Passes Muster with Congress, Heads to President

Joshua · 12-09-2003, 01:50 PM

Yesterday, the US Congress gave its approval to the first federal
law to regulate spam, legislation that President George W. Bush has
said he'll sign into law by the end of the year. The US House of
Representatives unanimously passed an antispam law, after its earlier
and similarly unanimous passage through the US Senate. And although
years of infighting and several competing bills marred the process,
the final version--the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited
Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act--is a classic compromise that
should eliminate some of the most egregious forms of spam.
Specifically, CAN-SPAM makes it illegal to forge email headers and
send unsolicited pornographic advertisements. CAN-SPAM also requires
spammers to include a functional return address or Web link in their
mailings so that users can unsubscribe.
"It's been a long time coming, and it was a lot of work to get it
there," said a spokesperson for Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. "But this is
the first national law to crack down on kingpin spammers and to help
protect Americans from unwanted and often offensive email. It's a
tremendous opportunity for us to crack down on some of the worst
offenders, who send thousands and thousands of emails a day and have
no relationship with the consumers they're emailing and fill people's
email inboxes with offensive spam. I think this bill is going to have
a real effect in reducing spam."
Critics note that CAN-SPAM won't stop the majority of spam because
most unwanted email is generated overseas. "What Congress is
effectively doing is ignoring these laws that haven't worked
everywhere else they've tried," said a spokesperson for the Coalition
Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE), which wanted
further-reaching antispam legislation. "This bill fails the most basic
tests for antispam legislation; it doesn't tell anybody not to spam."
Indeed, as a compromise with earlier competing bills, CAN-SPAM isn't
as aggressive as it could be; the law will use an opt-out approach
instead of banning unsolicited email outright. And for states such as
California that already had strict antispam laws, CAN-SPAM, which
overrides those state-based efforts, is a step back in many ways.
But backers note that the law is a positive first step and will
likely have some effect. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will also
create a do-not-spam list to which consumers can subscribe and will
punish spammers with as many as 5 years in prison. More important,
perhaps, is an upcoming United Nations (UN) summit in Geneva in which
representatives of many countries will discuss measures for
eliminating spam internationally.

bachviet · 12-09-2003, 09:33 PM

sucks...

topane · 12-10-2003, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SnotRocket
Critics note that CAN-SPAM won't stop the majority of spam becausemost unwanted email is generated overseas. "What Congress iseffectively doing is ignoring these laws that haven't worked
everywhere else they've tried,"
...

No ****, sherlock. This is useless legislation which won't have an effect on anyone, except now Congress can pat themselves on the back.

jase71 · 12-10-2003, 06:28 AM

The bill was supported by email marketing organizations.

If they're happy with it, that's a pretty good indication it's a complete farce, and won't change a thing.

cheapchinese · 12-11-2003, 04:06 AM

damn...that sucks..
how come though????
can't they at least fine the company in U.S????

12-09-2003, 01:50 PM	#1
Joshua Rear Admiral Upper Half Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 3,390	Antispam Legislation Passes Muster with Congress, Heads to President Yesterday, the US Congress gave its approval to the first federal law to regulate spam, legislation that President George W. Bush has said he'll sign into law by the end of the year. The US House of Representatives unanimously passed an antispam law, after its earlier and similarly unanimous passage through the US Senate. And although years of infighting and several competing bills marred the process, the final version--the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act--is a classic compromise that should eliminate some of the most egregious forms of spam. Specifically, CAN-SPAM makes it illegal to forge email headers and send unsolicited pornographic advertisements. CAN-SPAM also requires spammers to include a functional return address or Web link in their mailings so that users can unsubscribe. "It's been a long time coming, and it was a lot of work to get it there," said a spokesperson for Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. "But this is the first national law to crack down on kingpin spammers and to help protect Americans from unwanted and often offensive email. It's a tremendous opportunity for us to crack down on some of the worst offenders, who send thousands and thousands of emails a day and have no relationship with the consumers they're emailing and fill people's email inboxes with offensive spam. I think this bill is going to have a real effect in reducing spam." Critics note that CAN-SPAM won't stop the majority of spam because most unwanted email is generated overseas. "What Congress is effectively doing is ignoring these laws that haven't worked everywhere else they've tried," said a spokesperson for the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE), which wanted further-reaching antispam legislation. "This bill fails the most basic tests for antispam legislation; it doesn't tell anybody not to spam." Indeed, as a compromise with earlier competing bills, CAN-SPAM isn't as aggressive as it could be; the law will use an opt-out approach instead of banning unsolicited email outright. And for states such as California that already had strict antispam laws, CAN-SPAM, which overrides those state-based efforts, is a step back in many ways. But backers note that the law is a positive first step and will likely have some effect. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will also create a do-not-spam list to which consumers can subscribe and will punish spammers with as many as 5 years in prison. More important, perhaps, is an upcoming United Nations (UN) summit in Geneva in which representatives of many countries will discuss measures for eliminating spam internationally. __________________ The Apexer formerly known as SnotRocket. "Like I **ing said, "Ok, so I hear it may be a repost. Blah But I had never seen it, so..." ** you Canta." -Jenny 12/4/2003

12-09-2003, 09:33 PM	#2
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	sucks... __________________ Dell Dimension 9200 \| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) \| 4x1GB DDR2 \| 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT Dell Studio 17 \| Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) \| 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz \| 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 Intel P4-C 3.0GHz \| ECS 865PE-A \| 3x512MB PC3200 \| 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

12-10-2003, 06:28 AM	#4
jase71 Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: May 2000 Location: East of Eden Posts: 2,060	The bill was supported by email marketing organizations. If they're happy with it, that's a pretty good indication it's a complete farce, and won't change a thing. __________________ And I found that hope and a lucky card were all I had to walk with me...

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12-11-2003, 04:06 AM	#5
cheapchinese I love free! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: LA, California Posts: 2,998	damn...that sucks.. how come though???? can't they at least fine the company in U.S????

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