Group steps up anti-spam campaign
Maria Seminerio, ZDNet
A coalition of anti-spam activist groups on Thursday will deliver a database containing 150,000 unsolicited e-mail messages to Congress and the Federal Trade Commission, an official of one of the groups said Tuesday.
The move is aimed at helping the FTC track down online con artists by gleaning information about the spammers from the messages, according to Ray Everett-Church, legal counsel for the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (CAUCE). The activists also hope to spur Congress to pass new anti-spam legislation.
The groups said in a statement on their spam-gathering project that they are backing a measure proposed by Rep. Gary Miller, a California Republican, that would allow Internet service providers to hold spammers liable for up to $25,000 a day in damages for unsolicited commercial e-mail sent through their systems.
The spam mail was collected from Internet users over the last two months on the Spam Recycling Center Web site sponsored by CAUCE along with ChooseYourMail.com, the Forum for Responsible and Ethical E-mail, and SAFEeps.
"The overwhelming response to the Recycling Center and the questionable nature of the spam we've received tells me that the spam problem is growing," said Ian Oxman, president of ChooseYourMail.com, an "opt-in" e-mail marketing firm, in a statement.
CAUCE members were eager to participate in the project, in the hopes that it will give the FTC and Congress new tools to fight spammers, Everett-Church said in an interview.
"We saw a real outpouring of participation from CAUCE members," he said.
The messages consisted mainly of pitches for get-rich-quick schemes, pornographic Web sites and companies looking for people to help them send even more spam, Oxman said.
"Not only is spam damaging the Internet infrastructure, but it's clearly a favorite advertising vehicle for sleazy and abusive businesspeople," CAUCE vice-president John Mozena said in a statement. "It's the new favorite tool of those who abuse and defraud consumers."
Miller, the California Congressman, is scheduled to provide more details on his proposed legislation during a press conference Thursday. |
