This is the first instance of indecision to hit the telecoms committee at the EU and it may take a further three months to settle the issue of unsolicited commercial electronic mail. However, "true" spammers are the problem as they disguise...
Users are relatively tolerant of flyers and unsolicited promotions in their post and letters, and have learnt to live with (that is, delete) the multitude of spam emails in their PC inbox (often as a trade-off for free services).
In a prepared statement, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said the bill "will help consumers regain control of their inboxes and support email service providers in their battle to contain the spam menace.
Washington state has granted email recipients the right to sue spammers, and California and Delaware have mandated an "opt-in" approach that prohibits unsolicited commercial email without a prior business relationship.
The Can-Spam Act, short for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing, establishes nationwide standards for sending unsolicited commercial e-mail. However, blame for the latter issue can hardly be laid at the feet of...
No one knows just how much of the email traversing the internet is unwanted, unsolicited marketing communications. But as the threat has evolved, so have the filtering techniques that help ensure spam never reaches the user, as Anthony Plewes reports.