On Sat, 7 Aug 2004 00:24:18 -0500, Seth Goodman wrote
At the Federal level, the agency charged with
enforcing the new law, the FCC, stated prior to its passage that it
neither had the budget nor, incredibly, the _expertise_ to go after
any significant number of spammers. Though they _do_ have the
expertise to allocate spectrum usage, rule on cellular phone
infrastructure, adjudicate disputes over HDTV standards, make rules
concerning the amount of electromagnetic radiation a product can
radiate and the level of electrostatic discharge immunity a product
must have, they apparently cannot read an email header. That's a
credible position.
Actually, it seems reasonably credible to me. Computer networking and email
is pretty far outside their area of competancy. Just because they understand
one complex field doesn't mean they understand another.
I blame Congress for giving an agency a responsibility they said ahead of time
they couldn't handle.