BUSH SIGNS ANTI-SPAM BILL TO CURB E-MAIL FLOOD.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer President George W. Bush signed an anti-spam bill Tuesday to curb unwanted e-mail from flooding the inboxes of more than 117 million Internet users Internet user n → internauta m/f Internet user Internet n → internaute m/f throughout the nation. The Can-Spam Act of 2003, which takes effect Jan. 1, imposes fines and prison terms on spammers who collect e-mail addresses See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address from the Internet or use false information in the subject line to mislead mis·lead tr.v. mis·led , mis·lead·ing, mis·leads 1. To lead in the wrong direction. 2. To lead into error of thought or action, especially by intentionally deceiving. See Synonyms at deceive. recipients. The president signed the bill amid mounting public disdain from Americans who have been inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. by embarrassing subject lines that range from explicit sexual messages to outrageous travel offers. Executives from Time Warner Inc.'s America Online See AOL. , EarthLink Inc. and eBay Inc. supported the bill. United Online Inc., a Westlake Village-based Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. , said fighting spam is a constant battle for the company. United's NetZero and Juno automated spam filters A software routine that deletes incoming spam or diverts it to a "junk" mailbox (see spam folder). Also called "spam blockers," spam filters are built into a user's e-mail program. identify approximately 3 million pieces of possible spam per day. The company attempts to block spam by using automated mail analysis tools that scan for salacious sa·la·cious adj. 1. Appealing to or stimulating sexual desire; lascivious. 2. Lustful; bawdy. [From Latin sal or misleading e-mail. ``We do not currently make the dollar cost of (protecting against) spam available to the public ... but we are constantly working to enhance our spam fighting technologies to make our user experience even better,'' Elizabeth Gengl, a United Online spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. Internet service providers have been fighting spam with software filters and lawsuits for several years. EarthLink won a $16.4 million judgment in May against Howard Carmack Howard Carmack (also known as the Buffalo Spammer) was the first spammer, i.e. notorious sender of spam e-mails, to be sentenced to a time in jail. He was arrested in May 2003 and first freed for a bail of $20,000. , known as the ``Buffalo Spammer.'' The company shut down his operation, which had generated more than 825 million spam e-mails. The Vendare Group, a Sherman Oaks-based online marketing firm, would not return phone calls seeking comment about the spam bill. The company operates TrafficMarketplace, the Internet's largest advertising distribution network that sends messages to more than 70 million Internet users per month. Vendare Group acquired TrafficMarketplace from Vivendi-Universal for an undisclosed amount in September. ``My concern is that this bill may affect those who send mass e-mails, not spam, to legitimate subscribers,'' said Richard Reed, owner and founder of a Las Vegas-based online marketing company. Reed sends an ``informational guide'' about different cities to about 50,000 Internet users. He claims his guides are not spam because people have actually signed up to receive the e-mail. ``But Bush saying he's going to eliminate spam is like saying you've found a cure for cancer,'' Reed said. ``It's not any easy thing to do.'' The new law authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to establish a national do-not-spam registry, if it would be technologically feasible. The law also prohibits sending spam that falsifies the source, destination or routing information, while requiring commercial e-mail senders to include their physical address. Cox News Service contributed to this report. Evan Pondel, (818) 713-3662 evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com |
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