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Re: spam

2003-05-25 12:53:46
A
>> The legal system taking over something that should be done by IETF.
>
> I don't know of anything that IETF can do about spam, either.
>
> As long as it's possible to e-mail messages and make more money from
> the handful of replies than it cost to send out the messages, spam will
> persist. Legal sanctions are fine, but there isn't really any way to
> track down the spammers in many cases, or they are out of legal reach.
> Kind of like someone sending junk mail with no return address from
> overseas.

I wrote my first-ever letter to congress yesterday, demanding a law that
protects the property rights of organizations over commercial speech and
allows for private civil enforcement (specifically an extension to the
TCPA). I also promised to help develop email technology which would
address the credibility issues, since that seems to be the popular
complaint against such an approach.

Everybody knows that we can't fix this through laws or technology alone
but we can fix it by balancing the two.


Well Eric I congratulate you on personally taking responsibility for a first step. Where as the IETF is not in a good position instutionally do something about SPAM .. the IETF and its individual members are certainly the finest body of technical expertise on the subject.

For those of us that Live in the United States, unless we individually write Congressmen and Senators .. explain who we are and what technical expertise we bring to the subject , nothing will happen. I have seen this time and time again on Internet related issues.

The Congress goes off into never never land because many of us individually stay silent. These people in Congress are generally ignorant of the reality of Internet Technology ..to most of them its still magic.

Contary to popular opinion, the US is actually a democracy which in modern terms, unfortunately means the loudest voices often win. However I can personally attest to the fact that many if not most Congressional and Agency Staffers are overworked, underpaid and are generally delighted to hear from technically competent folks that can give them informed opinions without a axe to grind.

You can pick up the phone and call the offices of all the sponsors of the various bills ask for their Legislative Aides , they direct the Bills. Tell them what you think and why your personal technical background gives you some claim to expertise in these matters...write Chariman Burris of the FTC. The worst bill is coming out of Sen Conrad Burns office [D-MT] but I know Sen Charlie Schumer office D-NY is directly looking for public input.

Call the Staff's of both the US Senate and House Commerce committee and ask for the staff member looking into SPAM issues and speak to them..

If you are close to the metro DC area offer to testify if possible...

I personally attended the FTC hearings on SPAM and there were only 2 other people in the audience that had any connection to the IETF whatsoever. The entire body of panelists were lawyers, vendors, spammers etc.

No one from the Internet Society was there BTW.

If each of us do nothing I can guarantee you the Congress will screw it up...

But the good news is some things do work .. the unsolicited fax legislation in the 90 worked pretty well by permitting a private right of action against the companies selling goods and services via SPAM ... the US national Do Not Call list will go into effect in July/August which should cut down on the annoying voice calls we all get at home.

As my distinguished colleague Dave Crocker has wisely said " You are dealing with a Cockroach problem here. No one tool will solve the problem, but several in concert may make the problem manageable."

Dave did I paraphrase you corectly?



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Richard Shockey, Senior Manager, Strategic Technology Initiatives
NeuStar Inc.
46000 Center Oak Plaza  -   Sterling, VA  20166
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