Originally published January 20 2006
FTC says anti-spam law works
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The FTC has published a report to Congress that states that the CAN-SPAM Act is effective in protecting consumers, and that the Act has been enforced aggressively. The FTC has brought 21 cases under CAN-SPAM.
It provides for a national Do-Not-Spam list; requires that spam sent to consumers includes a means of opting-out of the mailing list used by the sender; bans the sending of fraudulent emails or unmarked sexually oriented emails, and provides for civil and criminal sanctions for those spammers who breach the rules.
The penalties may amount to fines of $6 million and five years in prison in the most severe cases.
But the Act has been severely criticised over the fact that it fails to actually "can" spam.
There is no ban on sending unsolicited commercial e-mail or text messages.
Despite this, the FTC yesterday published a report to Congress, concluding that consumers are receiving less spam now than they were receiving in 2003.
The report, "Effectiveness and Enforcement of the CAN-SPAM Act," looks at research provided by email filtering firm MX Logic.
"The volume of spam sent over the internet has begun to level off, and, even more significantly, the amount reaching consumers' inboxes has decreased, due to enhanced anti-spam technologies," reads the report.
According to Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, "We're using technology and teamwork in the battle against illegal spam".
"Taken together, they are helping us combat the outlaw spammers who disregard laws designed to prevent fraud and protect consumers' rights," she added.
The report states that the Act is effective in providing protection for consumers, and that state and federal law enforcers and the private sector are enforcing the Act aggressively.
The report observes that the Act codifies "best practices" that legitimate marketers are following and notes that technology advancements may be the most useful tool in combating outlaw spammers.
"There has been a shift toward the inclusion in spam messages of content that is increasingly malicious," says the report.
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