*Bush signs anti-spam bill into law*
ABC
News, 17/12/2003
US President George W Bush has signed the first national US anti-spam bill
into law, outlawing some of the most annoying forms of junk e-mail and setting
jail time and multi-million dollar fines for violators.
The law lays the groundwork for a "Do Not Spam" registry similar to
the "Do Not Call" anti-telemarketing list that went into effect
earlier this year.
Mr Bush's signing marks the final legislative step in a six-year struggle to
curb the unsolicited commercial offers that threaten to overwhelm the e-mail
system.
But the law is unlikely to provide much of a Christmas present, at least this
year.
Experts say it will not immediately stop the torrent of unwelcome e-mails
touting unbelievably low mortgage rates, get-rich-quick schemes and sexual
enhancement, which now account for more than half of all e-mail traffic.
Sceptics say it will only encourage businesses to send out more unwanted
e-mail, as the new law allows marketers to send messages to anyone with an
e-mail address as long as they identify themselves clearly and honour consumer
requests to leave them alone.
Supporters say the law sets a helpful framework for acceptable e-mail
practices but acknowledge it will need to be enforced aggressively to have any
impact.
"This will help address the problems associated with the rapid growth and
abuse of spam by establishing a framework of technological, administrative,
civil and criminal tools and by providing consumers with the options to reduce
unwanted e-mail," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
The new law requires pornographic e-mail to be clearly labelled and commercial
text messages to cell phones will be prohibited unless users expressly permit
them.
It encourages but does not require the Federal Trade Commission to allow
Internet users who do not want to receive any unsolicited marketing to place
their e-mail addresses on a list that marketers would be required to check.
FTC officials have said on several occasions that a do-not-spam registry would
be difficult to enforce.
The law will override some tougher state laws, such as one in California that
would prevent all unsolicited commercial e-mail, and will prohibit consumer
lawsuits.
Internet marketers have begun to feel the heat as the skyrocketing volumes of
spam have strained computer networks and outraged consumers.
Prosecutors in New York and Virginia have used state laws to arrest a handful
of spammers and large Internet service providers like America Online and
EarthLink have sued dozens more for damages.
Microsoft and New York Attorney-General Eliot Spitzer are expected to announce
another anti-spam action later this week.
At the national level, the Federal Trade Commission has used
deceptive-business laws to go after spammers, though settlements generally
involve promises to avoid spamming in the future rather than fines or jail
time.
Large Internet service providers and marketing and technology trade groups
praised the new law, though many said it would need to be coupled with better
filtering methods.
Forrester Research analyst Jim Nail said the law would have little effect as
spammers would simply move offshore and come up with new ways to evade filters
and cover their tracks.
A better solution would be to force all e-mail users to make a tiny payment
for each message sent, as a way to discourage indiscriminate mass e-mailings,
he said.
Civil liberties advocate Ari Schwartz said the bill would likely make it
easier for Internet service providers and prosecutors to go after spammers,
though it was not without flaws.
Spammers who already violate existing fraud laws are unlikely to honour
opt-out requests and the anti-pornography provisions could prove difficult to
enforce, Mr Schwartz, an associate director at the Washington-based Centre for
Democracy and Technology, said.
By preventing individual lawsuits, Congress shut the door on an effective way
to harness consumer anti-spam sentiment, he said.
"There shouldn't be extremely high expectations for this law," he
said.
