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Stronger Anti-Spam Law Proposed

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the seriously-quit-it dept.

NumberField writes "The fight against Spam is making for some strange bedfellows. A new bill sponsored by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and the right-wing Christian Coalition that would let individuals sue spammers for $1000 per message. What isn't clear is how they will define spam broadly enough to outlaw it, but narrowly enough to avoid making it a bonanza for lawyers. For more information, see Schumer's fact sheet (PDF), or his press release." Update: 06/13 14:20 GMT by M : The draft bill (pdf) is available.

3 of 291 comments (clear)

  1. beyond reasonable doubts by maliabu · · Score: 5, Informative

    do we need to prove that those emails suspected of spamming are truly unsolicited? how do we prove that we never subscribed to a certain mailing list? can spammer 'fake' subscriptions?

    and with the "Do Not Spam" registry of e-mail addresses, wouldn't it make it easier for spammers to request such do-not-spam list and spam it??

    If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. like the article stated, it might endanger legitimate Internet services.

  2. I'm just a Bill on Capitol Hill by mental_telepathy · · Score: 4, Informative
    Schumer can sponsor a Bill. The Christian Coalition, at least until they are elected as a body to a senate seat, can only support a bill (And drop fat checks on people to get it passed.)

    If you'd like to see it passed, ask your Senator to cosponsor

  3. TPS (Telephone Preference Service) by amembleton · · Score: 5, Informative

    I like the sound of this. Defining Spam would be a problem.

    If you could prove that there is either no way of requesting an end to the spam or that it didn't work when you clicked on the link then that might stand up in court.

    If you still get spam then you should be able to forward it onto some Government organisation who would deal with the company with an army of beurachrats.

    Here in the UK, we have a good system for stopping unsolicited phone calls and text (SMS) messages. It is called TPS (Telephone Preference Service). You basically register your number(s) with this organisation and marketeers aren't allowed to use that number. If they do you can report it, they can check phone records or something and fine them something like £5,000. This system does work.