From Inman News
The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission called spam a “daunting” consumer protection problem and said the agency faces its most significant test ever in addressing the explosion of junk e-mail messages on the Internet.
FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris focused on the challenges posed by spam, the roles of government, marketers and Internet service providers in addressing the spam problem and the possibilities for anti-spam legislation during a speech he delivered last month to business executives and government officials at the Aspen Summit in Aspen, Colo.
Muris said legislation alone would do little or nothing to halt the growing flood of spam. The Internet allows anonymous spammers to send thousands of e-mails per day at essentially no cost and new laws alone would provide little incentive for them to cease those activities, he suggested.
“No one should expect any new law to make a substantial difference by itself,” Muris said.
The commissioner said any new legislation must address how to locate and prosecute spammers and how to punish spammers who have no assets. Consumers will be protected only when criminal action is taken when defendants have no assets or when civil penalties don’t provide enough incentive to stop spammers from violating the law, he said.
Muris said “eventually the spam problem will be reduced, if at all, through technological innovations,” including improved ISP spam filters and the integration of anti-spam technology into the e-mail services ISPs provide for consumers. But until those capabilities become available “the ISPs need to empower consumers by providing the means to deal with spam more easily,” he said.
The FTC will continue to investigate and prosecute deceptive spam and the deceptive and unfair use of e-mail technology. Such efforts include cooperation with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, consumer and business education and outreach and collaboration with government, ISPs, marketers and technologists.