🚀 go-pugleaf

Reposted from comp.internet.net-happenings:

> From: Edward Cherlin <cherlin@newbie.net>
> Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 09:13:19 -0700
> 
> Anti-Spam Law Proposed
> http://www.cauce.org
> 
> Group Says, "Ban Junk Electronic Mail"
> 
> Internet, May 12, 1997--The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial
> E-mail (CAUCE) announced today that it is calling for a legal ban on
> unsolicited e-mail advertising. CAUCE has drafted an amendment to the
> federal law that bans unsolicited fax advertisements, to extend it to cover
> unsolicited e-mail advertising on the same terms. The proposal would give
> e-mail users control of the kinds of advertising they are willing to accept
> in their mailboxes, whether they prefer to shut it off completely, or ask
> for more.
> 
> The junk fax law (more formally, portions of 47 USC 227), provides that
> businesses may offer goods and services in fax messages only if the
> recipient has asked for the information or has a previous business
> relationship with the company. Recipients may ask to be taken off
> mailing lists at any time. Violation can result in a civil penalty of $500
> per message, or more in the case of clearly willful violation or failure to
> provide a valid return fax number. Extending the same terms to e-mail
> should work equally well, according to CAUCE.
> 
> The arguments against junk e-mail and junk fax are very similar. Cost
> shifting to the recipient and denial of service are two of the most
> important. For example, many e-mail users and mailing lists have a daily
> limit on traffic, so UCE can displace other traffic and prevent it
> getting through.
> 
> "Starting from an existing law has several important advantages," said
> CAUCE co-founder Edward Cherlin. "We have a law that has worked well,
> that covers a very similar problem, and that has passed a constitutional
> challenge in court. The only thing really wrong with the junk fax law
> from our point of view is that so few people know it exists, so junk fax
> still continues on a small scale. That makes education the number two
> priority for us, behind getting the law passed."
> 
> The CAUCE Web site at http://www.cauce.org is an important part of the
> organization's education campaign. It offers information about UCE and
> the proposed amendment, a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page, and a
> sign-up page where visitors can join CAUCE to receive a newsletter on Spam
> issues, or register their support for the proposal. Electronic signatures
> will be sorted and delivered to the appropriate Senators and Representatives.
> 
> The site also explains why other proposed solutions to UCE don't work,
> and how UCE harms other businesses. Because of UCE, many people are
> unwilling to deal with any online business. In particular it is impossible
> to create anything like a complete Internet e-mail directory service, since
> it would be used to generate mailing lists.
> 
> "We're not against commerce on-line.  We're just against paying
> to receive junk mail.  It's time-consuming to deal with, and it's
> incredibly costly - a cost which has to be passed on by the
> Internet Service Provider (ISP) to their subscribers." said CAUCE member
> John Mozena.
> 
> The Coalition Against UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail) was
> founded by Scott Hazen Mueller, Vice President for Engineering
> for Whole Earth Networks, Edward Cherlin, Vice President for
> Business Development of NewbieNet, a free educational service
> for novice Internet users, and Doug Muth, a UNIX system
> administrator.  Legal expertise was provided by Anne Mitchell,
> an attorney in Santa Clara, CA with many years' experience
> on the Internet.  The lobbying effort in Washington is led by Ray
> Everett-Church, a contractor with various ISPs on computer
> security issues.
> 
> For more information on the Coalition and its lobbying efforts,
> visit its Web home page at http://www.cauce.org.  The CAUCE Web
> site explains the Spam problem, gives the text of the current law
> prohibiting junk faxes and the proposed amendment, and answers
> common questions about the proposal.
> 
> -- 
> 
> Edward Cherlin     Help outlaw Spam       Everything should be made
> Vice President   http://www.cauce.org        as simple as possible,
> NewbieNet, Inc.                                 __but no simpler__.    
> http://www.newbie.net/                Attributed to Albert Einstein
> 
> 


--
####    |\^/|     Colin R. Leech     ag414 or crleech@freenet.carleton.ca
#### _|\|   |/|_  Civil engineer by training, transport planner by choice.
#### >         <  Opinions are my own. You may consider them shareware.
####  >_./|\._<   "If you can't return a favour, pass it on." - A.L. Brown