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Australia To Fast-Track Anti-Spam Bill
Crypto Gnome writes "News Interactive is reporting that anti-spam legislation is being fast-forwarded by the Australian Federal Government. The proposed law will ban sending commercial emails without the recipient's prior consent and ban the use of email harvesting or list-generating software. Naturally, this will only directly impact local Australian spammers, but they're also hoping this will set a precedent for the International community." Banning list-generation software seems a bit heavy-handed, doesn't it?
Any time the government down here does anything 'net related it's heavy handed, overkill, and generally not thought out. This is about par for the course really. At least this time they do seem to be aiming in at least generally the right direction!
Disclaimer: The above comment was made while under the influence of too much coding and not enough sleep.
I'm not sure how this is a precedent since spamming is illegal right now in Austria and Italy, and I'm sure some other countries too. But it is good news - hopefully the rest of the world isn't too far behind.
I wonder if this will work at slowing down Wayne Mansfield's spamming operations. Even after the very much public law suit with Joe McNicol he is still churning out the crap. The latest ones are going under the name of BusinessGrow - yondefa@yahoo.com.au.
Its rather nice that he uses the same phrase in each spam email "Business Seminars Australia - since 1987", guess what procmail is setup to look out for...
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*This is the cute bunny virus, please copy this into your sig so it can spread
I'd like to point out the Danish anti-spam law which has been effective for about a year now. It's very very effective. The ombudsman has created a webpage where you can report spam. If he receives "enough" complaints about the same spammer, he sues them for you. Yes - that's correct. All you have to do is send in the evidence. Of course, this only works if the recipient has a clue, otherwise they'd spend way too much time researching dead ends. But our ombudsman is pretty cool, and he already sued danish big time spammer Fonn. The result you ask? The spammer had to pay $15 for each piece of spam. Needless to say, they haven't been spamming since.
1. Almost all retail broadband accounts are volume capped and charged at ludicrously high rates if you go over the cap. This adds impetuous to the government to do something about spam due to the public knowing that they are paying for this stuff directly (even if technically it would make a very small percentage of their bill).
2. The Australian legal system isn't too corrupted yet and it is very unlikely that the DPP would use this law against anyone unless the list gathered (by software or otherwise) was actually used for sending spam. If you are a conspiracy theorist - the government will get you anyway, there are plenty of other laws for them to use. This helps the government get at all areas of the problem and no excuses like: "sorry judge, I don't send the spam I just collect the address's and my mate in is actually sending the spam".
It's just you.
Seriously, Australia as a nation seems to have gotten most things right. The notable exception is the complete stupidity in the way we manage and legislate technology-related stuff, but that's just Senator Alston being his usual self.
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Australian Government to ban spam
The Australian Government will move to ban electronic junk mail (spam) and enforce this ban through the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) in legislation that will be introduced to Parliament later this year, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, announced today.
Senator Alston said that Cabinet had yesterday agreed to anti-spam legislation including fines, along with a raft of other measures aimed at reducing the influx of spam into Australian e-mail inboxes.
Spam is a menace to home and business e-mail users and is a major scourge of productivity. Spam e-mails are the mosquitoes of the Internet - numerous, annoying and often carrying nasty viruses.
Australia will soon be applying a large dose of 'spam repellent' and sending a strong message to spammers that indiscriminate and unsolicited bulk e-mailing will not be tolerated. The adoption of an opt-in regime will make Australia world's-best practice on spam and put Australia in a strong position to participate in international efforts.
The Australian Government is committed to taking a strong stand against spam and has moved quickly to respond to the report by the National Office for the Information Economy The spam problem and how it can be countered released in April this year. This report provided a blueprint to take action against the problem to provide the maximum possible protection against spam.
While the report made it clear that there is no silver bullet against spam, there are many roles that all parties can play in a multi-layered approach. The anti-spam measures that the Australian Government will introduce include:
* National legislation, to be enforced by the ACA, banning the sending of commercial electronic messaging without the prior consent of end-users unless there is an existing customer-business relationship (an opt-in regime);
* Civil sanctions for unlawful conduct including financial penalties, an infringement notice scheme and the ability to seek enforceable undertakings and injunctions;
* The requirement for all commercial electronic messaging to contain accurate details of the sender's name and physical addresses and a functional 'unsubscribe' facility to enable people to opt-out;
* Banning the distribution and use of e-mail 'harvesting' or list-generating software, and
* Working together with international organisations to develop global guidelines and cooperative mechanisms to combat the global spam problem.
The Government will work closely with industry to ensure that Australia has a workable regime without harming legitimate business practices. The regime will seek to protect businesses which undertake legitimate e-mail direct marketing in line with the requirements of the Privacy Act. There will be a 120-day sunrise period without penalties from the enactment of the legislation for businesses to ensure their marketing practices are in line with the legislation.
Stakeholders including the Internet Industry Association (IIA), the Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA), small business associations and other not-for-profit organisations will be consulted on the details of the legislation.
The Government will also work with industry to develop relevant codes of practice to be registered with the ACA, building on initiatives such as the IIA's 'No Spam' campaign, which since April has enabled consumers to access anti-spamming technology for a free month's trial.
The measures announced today establish a framework for Australia to begin the important task of eradicating spam. The package will be accompanied by an education campaign to raise awareness of the nature of spam and anti-spam measures and to inform individuals and business of their rights and responsibilities when it comes to spam.
Leg
Watch out son, you just laid out a very big troll bait. You might not be able to handle what you're about to hook!
I'm an Aussie, and despite the oncoming wave of complaints about the Government and Telstra, it is a great place to live, and pretty-well IT minded. No, we're not South Korea, but broadband take up has just started accelerating at quite a pace, we've got an excellent mobile and landline network and all the capitals have cable in one form or another.
Every day I am reminded about how fortunate we are that our government by and large is not in the pockets of big corporations. This article on Wired really opened my eyes yesterday. The very thought of a Bank over here selling your details is unfathomable; good legislation is partly responsible, but I don't imagine many people would do it even if that wasn't in place. That a state is having to fight for this level of privacy (and having difficulty doing it) just floors me.
And the "do not call" register that the US has had to set up. My god, is it really that bad over there?
-- james
Clearly no-one is going to fine you for doing that.
You will only get in trouble if you have been caught using list-generating software for the purpose of spamming.
Everything you say points to the current state of affairs. My point is that Australia is still growing. We don't have much of a say in the world yet, but we will. We have decidedly more control over our future than the American public; we don't have stupid rules about lobyists being able to bribe politicians to pass laws for them. If our politicians want to get into power, they've got to make the Australian public as a whole (not just the subset who choose to vote, as in America) happy. No matter who our leader is, we're still going to have to kow-tow to the US for the moment. American favour is too valuable, and enmity too costly.
No, Australia doesn't manufacture much. But the industrial age is over, and the information age just beginning. I don't know about the "tattered remnants" you mention; the Australian education system is one of the best in the world. Many Australian graduates are asked to work overseas, not just heading over there to look for jobs, but being actively recruited. I know that in at least two fields (teaching and nursing), Australian's can earn massive salaries (compared to the earnings back home) in places like the UK.
Tha largest technological advance Australia has had the opportunity to participate in has been the internet. Australia, despite being encumbered by a government-sponsored telecommunications monopoly, has a very high rate of broadband penetration. For a country with such a low population density, our infrastructure is remarkable. Many Australian Universities (Wollongong, Melbourne, UTS) were working on the internet in its infancy.
Australia continues to make innovations in other areas. It was an Australian research group who managed to teleport, not just a single photon as had been done previously, but an entire laser beam. Australia is a world leader in medical research. I really can't see your argument about Australia being backwards technologically.
As too becoming a US vassal state, well, maybe. But there hasn't been a nation on earth who have lasted forever, and when the inevitable decay hits the US, someone's going to pick up the pieces and become the next world power. It could very well be Australia. It may not be, but then, it could be, too.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
They paid, although I would say that calling them a "big time spammer" is a bit exaggerating. I believe they were found guilty for about 150-200 mails, so the fine, although big, was payable.
I have been hearing about this for most of the day.
I had a chuckle to myself when I heard Alston's response the suggestion that these measures would have no effect because most of the spam comes from overseas. He beleives that by implementing these strong arm policies we are setting an example to the international community, and slowly other countries will follow in suit.
Countries that are spam-friendly are not going to care what the hell australia does. So we are getting these insane policies for no real reason.
Who knows? As Andrew allready pointed out in in his posting, nobody knows the exact text yet. It still has to show up in the parliament.
Alex.
You look like a million dollars. All green and wrinkled.
Clever signature text goes here.
Australia has a grand tradition of the big stick that is used with "discretion".
As an example - in the state of Queensland it is currently an offense to possess and/or distribute information pertaining to the production or consumption of drugs. This applies across the board - consider the following text.
Production:
- Plant cannabis seed.
- Add water, sun, and compost.
- Harvest.
Consumption:Technically, merely by having this in your internet cache, in Queensland, you could face fines up to AU$50k and/or 2 years in gaol (jail for our American friends).
The standard response from the government when asked to justify these seemingly draconian laws is: "Well, they would only be used in appropriate circumstances".
It makes you think... who decides what's appropriate??
Q.
Insert Signature Here
The REAL problem with spam, is that it is, in effect, theft of service from the ISP that it originated at, and any intervening ISP as well. And we won't even get started on falsified headers, misleading topics, etc. . .
And, if spam WAS such an ethical and wanted product, then WHY do the spammers rely so much on disposable accounts, exploiting open relays, and other disreputable tactics. . .
There's two kinds of spam
No, there is only one kind. The second kind isn't spam.
Spam is defined as "unsolicited bulk email". Note the first word there - unsolicited. If you have a relationship with the sender, then it's not unsolicited, and therefore not spam.
I'm getting a weekly email from a radio station I sent my CD to, saying what their playlist is. Did I ask for it? No.
But you did ask for it, albeit indirectly. You initiated the relationship with them, so it's not unsolicited.
Anybody who knows a bit about programming can write a new list-generating software. Thus you can't ban the software, as you can be sure that there'll be a site who offers the same banned software for download
/. editor, all of whom suffer from reading comprehension deficit disorder) is saying that software itself would be illegal, but that using the software to generate lists would be illegal.
Read this:
The proposed law will [...] ban the use of email harvesting or list-generating software
So nobody (except the
Big difference.