United States set to Legalize Spamming on 1 January 2004

[slaveplanet]

Against the advice of all anti-spam organizations, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the CAN-SPAM Act, a bill backed overwhelmingly by spammers and dubbed the "YOU-CAN-SPAM" Act because it legalizes spamming instead of banning it. Spam King Alan Ralsky told reporters the passage of the House bill "made my day". Spammers say they will now pour money into installations of new spam servers to heavily ramp up their outgoing spam volumes "all legally".

CAN-SPAM is expected to pass the Senate next week and be signed into law by President Bush on January 1, just in time to kill off California's strong anti-spam law which would have come into effect on January 1 making spamming illegal in California. With the passage of CAN-SPAM, spamming will be officially legal throughout the United States, CAN-SPAM says that 23 million U.S. businesses can all begin spamming all U.S. email addresses as long as they give users a way to opt-out, which users can do by following the instructions of each spammer. Anyone with any sense would of course realize that if CAN-SPAM becomes law, opting out of spammers lists will very likely become the main daytime activity for most U.S. email users in 2004. The second main activity will be sorting through mailboxes crammed with 'legal' spam every few minutes to see if there's any email amongst the spam.

If CAN-SPAM becomes law, from January Europe and the United States will have opposing legislation, as Europe has already introduced legislation making spamming illegal. But 90% of Europe's spam problem originates in the United States where spamming will now be legal, therefore Europe can expect the levels of incoming spam from the United States to more than double during 2004 as U.S. spammers ramp up their output under America's new YOU-CAN-SPAM law.

What this will do for relations between Europe and the United States, is easy to predict with millions of European Internet users already angry at being deluged in American "make-penis-fast" spam. From December 11, spamming will be illegal in the UK, but with 90% of the UK's spam problem originating in the United States, British users will continue to be flooded, now with 'legal' spam from the U.S.
http://www.spamhaus.org/news.lasso?article=150

[w13rd0]

1. Combine this with broadcast media...

...pressuring makers of DVR hardware and software (prohibiting the omission of advertisements during recording), and you've got special interests and corporate entities ENFORCING that you WILL be a consumer, YOU WILL read their crap. Changing the channel to avoid being bombarded with propaganda is no longer an option...

[eyesroll]

2. I've never really thought much of spam laws, either way

They're utterly unenforceable, so long as spam is legal somewhere in the world. I think they're feel-good legislation more than anything.

[cornermouse]

3. Probably the end of email and life support for the Post Ofc.

If it gets too bad, I'll probably end up dropping the email addresses and return to snail mail, full time. The U.S. post office will be back in business. Convenient, huh?

[maha]

4. I wonder if this will last.

Businesses depend on email these days. They won't want to hear that they have to accept spam.

[Terwilliger]

5. make it legal?

Is spamming illegal like pot is illegal, cuz 75% of all my new web-based e-mail is spam, and they have a filter with a 90% interception rate! How is it not legal now?

[Eloriel]

6. C;mon, Terwillliger, think

First, the article mentioned CA was GOING to make it illegal.

Second, it's not so much that it's "illegal," it's that you can turn people in for spamming and they can lose their ISP. That practice will cease, in all probability. You think you've got spam now, just wait.

Eloriel

[karabekian]

7. it should be legal

I think allowing the government to control the content of emails and services will allow them to control the internet and its content. That is bad bad bad. Not as bad as turning over the control of it to the UN (as they have been demanding) but still the first step in the governments of the world controling what you can and cant read. Screw that. My free yahoo account keeps out 99% of the spam that I didn't ask for. I just empty the trash and then delete the few that get through.