Inspired by the success of the recently launched Do-Not-Call
Registry, which tackles the problem of telemarketing, Congress had
been hoping that a similar registry would have an effect on the
massive volume of unsolicited commercial e-mail flooding consumers'
in-boxes.
It therefore included a provision in the recent CAN-SPAM Act
(Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing
Act) requiring the FTC to look into the practicalities and problems
relating to such a registry.
The FTC has now completed its report, but its findings suggest
that any Do-Not-E-mail registry will have to wait until technology
improves.
The problem is that unlike telemarketers, which tend to be
legitimate and identifiable businesses, spammers by their very
nature use deceptive practices to hide their identities and their
e-mail addresses.
This means that anti-spam filters find it difficult to identify
spam, and that law enforcement officers find it very difficult to
identify and catch spammers.
The danger therefore is that users signing up to the registry
would in fact receive more spam because spammers would feel free to
use such a registry as a directory of valid e-mail addresses.
As FTC Chairman Timothy Muris put it, "Consumers will be spammed
if we do a registry and spammed if we don't."
The solution, says the FTC, is to focus on creating a robust
e-mail authentication system to prevent spammers from hiding their
tracks and evading law enforcement or anti-spam filters. Leading
ISPs, including AOL and Microsoft, are already working together to
try to create such a system.
The report has been roundly welcomed by industry. Jerry
Cerasale, senior vice president for government affairs with the
Direct Marketing Association said: "Today's FTC announcement
reflects the widely held belief that a do-not-e-mail list would
not be a do-not-spam list".
"It is imperative that there will be an authentication system in
place so that consumers and regulators can determine who
sent the e-mail and take appropriate action," he added.
Anti-spam software firm Brightmail also endorsed the FTC's
opinion. "Mail messages need to contain more information than they
do today, so that filtering technology can more effectively
identify and block spam," said CEO Enrique Salem. "We commend the
FTC for recognising that authentication is an important next step
in securing the e-mail infrastructure."
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