Deconstructing Code

FCC Protects Wireless Domains From Spam

The FCC is creating a registry to protect cellular and other commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) wireless consumers from unwanted commercial electronic mail messages. The list can be found here.
Senders who send commercial email to wireless mail domains can face fines of up to $11,000 per violation. According to InfoWorld, this rule came out of the CAN-SPAM Act.
It will be interesting to see whether these rules can prevent spam on these domains. I see no reason why a spammer would not target these domains, except for these new regulations. Even if the response rate was far smaller for cell phone spam, it could still be profitable.

Posted by rshah on February 08, 2005| Comments (0)

Spam Sent by Fraud Is Made a Felony Under Virginia Law

Spam Sent by Fraud Is Made a Felony Under Virginia Law
I In the toughest move to date against unsolicited commercial e-mail, Virginia enacted a law yesterday imposing harsh felony penalties for sending such messages to computer users through deceptive means.

Posted by rshah on April 29, 2003| Comments (0)

Porn spam--legal minefield for employers

Porn spam--legal minefield for employers
Lewd e-mail promoting pornography may soon pose more than just a technical challenge in the ongoing fight against spam--experts say it's set to become an acute legal problem, too.

Posted by rshah on April 16, 2003| Comments (0)

Direct marketers want anti-spam laws

Direct marketers want anti-spam laws
Until now, the DMA has opposed the majority of anti-spam bills in Congress or offered only lukewarm support. But the ever-rising tide of junk e-mail has made the influential trade association rethink its stand.

Posted by rshah on October 22, 2002| Comments (0)

FTC Joins The Fight Against Spam

FTC Joins The Fight Against Spam
The FTC said yesterday it settled charges against seven people accused of participating in a chain- letter scam that promised a $46,000 payoff for a $5 payment. The settlement requires spammers to refund to consumers any money they collect from the scheme in the future and to refrain from spamming or helping others to spam.

Posted by rshah on February 13, 2002| Comments (0)

EBay Executive Wants E-Mail 'Harvesting' Ban

EBay Executive Wants E-Mail 'Harvesting' Ban
Meeting today with lawmakers to discuss online fraud, eBay Inc. Chief Executive Meg Whitman asked Congress to pass legislation outlawing the practice of "harvesting" e-mail addresses from eBay and other auction sites. At a morning meeting at the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Whitman said that online auction houses have been unable to come up with a technological defense against harvesting, a practice that she said had sparked thousands of complaints from eBay users.

Posted by rshah on June 28, 2001| Comments (0)

Technical and Legal Approaches to Unsolicited Electronic Mail

Technical and Legal Approaches to Unsolicited Electronic Mail
by David Sorkin, see also Slashdot

Posted by rshah on April 26, 2001| Comments (0)

Will U.S. anti-spam laws work when spam now comes from overseas?

Will U.S. anti-spam laws work when spam now comes from overseas?
If there's one thing certain about spam, it's that an increasing amount of the stuff is originating from overseas sites and flowing through non-U.S. servers -- all outside the reach of U.S. law.

Posted by rshah on February 26, 2001| Comments (0)

National Opt Out Lists

National Opt Out Lists
Spammers have to check that the people they send adverisments to aren't on the "opt-out" list, a list centraly operated by the goverment's National Data Register.