Slashdot Mirror
Tweaking the CAN-SPAM Act
rbochan writes "The Register is reporting that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is consulting on proposed changes to the CAN-SPAM Act. Changes would include clarifying the definitions of the terms person and sender, and altering the time allowed for a sender to to honor an opt-out request. The FTC proposal is available as a PDF on the official FTC site." From the article: "Critics have accused the Act of being narrow and weak, accusations that may be hard to deny given that the US sends more spam than any other, according to a recent report by anti-virus firm Sophos."
The purpose of the CAN-SPAM act wasn't to stop spam, it was to legitimize spam sent by the DMA and its members.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
"It is also proposing to shorten from 10 days to three the time a sender may take before honouring a recipient's opt-out request;"
Yeah, so now they only have 3 days to sell my address to 100 other spam lists.
João Pinheiro
Existing laws should be applicable. Lets see spam at a minimum usually involves
* forgery with the intention to deceive.
* theft of service
* trespassing
Reshape the existing laws to include new technologies.
While we are at it, go after the end benificiary of spam. The ones selling a product or service. I know some will say that it is too easy to set someone up. Is it? In the U.S. one is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Hmm... we should be able to spot a setup.
Heck why laws at all? Most times the parties involved cross multiple boundries/jurisdictions. Laws, in the long run, are not the way to go. The technology needs fixing
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
All I want is the right for a simple small claims mediation. Let me shoulder the burden of prosecution! These guys are absolutely punishing my email servers and bandwidth. Let me hit them back! Here is how it would go:
:)
Me: I didn't ask for this email and I have no relationship with the vendor. Here is the proof that I got spam for their product, directing me to the following websites they control...
Mediator: Do you have proof that DaGoodBoy agreed to be solicited?
Spammer: Uh...
Mediator: That will be $500 bucks. Next!
If I lose, I'll agree to pay $500 for the trouble. Hell, let this happen on a teleconference with a mediation company sanctioned by the government instead of court. I bet I could make a living just from persuing my spammers!
Either this or just look the other way while I set up an anonymous payout deadpool for the members of the ROKSO list...
My God! It's full of Voids!
Before "CAN-SPAM", the various states would pass their own anti-spam laws.
... one worthless Federal law that trumps all of the state laws.
Some states had really good (anti-spammer) laws.
Some didn't.
So the DMA lobbied the government to deal with the "problem" of different states having different laws.
The end result