An overused yet accurate comparison is frequently made between the widespread acceptance and use of the internet for communications and the invention of the Gutenberg press. No other technological advancement offers so much potential for the free exchange of ideas and information.
Currently however, the usefulness of the internet as a communications medium may be in jeopardy because of the growing problem of unsolicited commercial junk e-mail. Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) or SPAM, as it has come to be known, has the potential to clog today's internet mail system and make it unusable.
Bulk e-mailers (SPAMMERS) argue that internet users only have to hit the delete key if they get a message or advertisement that is unwanted. SPAMMERS state that junk paper mail is accepted without as much derision, so why can't indignant internet users just forget it and get on with their lives?
SPAMMERS overlook several issues when making their argument. The main one being that people don't have to pay for the delivery of e-mail based on volume as a conventional direct marketer would. Without this restraining factor, bulk e-mail has the potential to overwhelm internet users. This also has the negative effect of attracting people whose product value and marketability are questionable. Can you imagine how useful your mailbox would become if you got two or three hundred pieces of junk mail everyday?
One solution which has been discussed is to meter e-mail, so that people who send large amounts of e-mail pay their fair share to carry and deliver bulk e-mail. However, marketplace trends show that internet users almost universally demand that e-mail remain unmetered by choosing internet service providers (ISPs) that sell flat rate access.
Another less appealing approach is to ban anonymous e-mail and the use of improper return address information on e-mail messages, and force the ISPs to come up with technological solutions to the problem. This solution would surely raise the cost of access for most home and business internet users as there currently exists no mechanism to properly validate the identity of the sender.
In an attempt to control the worsening situation, U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) has introduced legislation that would in effect "sanction" the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail. Under his proposal, unsolicited e-mail will be required to carry the word ADVERTISEMENT in the subject field of the message as well as containing proper return address information so that people could "opt out" by asking that their address be removed from e-mail marketing lists. Bulk e-mailers would be required to honor removal requests.
Like illegal telephone boiler room operations, it is extremely difficult to enforce such a law as most SPAMMERS forge return addresses and often illegally use an innocent internet provider's or other third party's computers to deliver the mail making it harder to track the perpetrator. SPAMMERS primarily connect to the large nationwide service providers to send the mail because they know these providers will not share network use information (like tracing a phone call) without a subpoena from a law enforcement agency.
In addition, these larger nationwide services have very liberal use policies, making it possible for SPAMMERS to send a large number of messages before finally being cut off due to complaints about their unauthorized use of third party mail relays or other violations of their provider's use policies.
Several unresolved court actions are pending against prolific SPAMMERS for misuse of internet mail systems. Earlier this year, Earthlink Network (TM) successfully blocked a major SPAMMER from using it's e-mail delivery system to deliver bulk e-mail to subscribers of the large online services such as America Online and Compuserve. In that case the judge ruled that the unauthorized use of Earthlink's systems constituted a "trespass", and issued a restraining order prohibiting the SPAMMER from forging messages in order to appear as if the e-mail was legitimately coming from within Earthlink's network.
Another more recent court case regarding SPAM is currently under consideration. The Strong Capital Management Inc., a mutual fund and money management company is suing a SPAMMER who allegedly utilized Strong's computer to send over 250,000 messages. The messages contained ads sent on behalf of companies who were unaware that the bulk e-mail they paid to have sent to internet users was being sent illegally.
Internet service providers need to educate their users and the public regarding proper use of e-mail, and they must enforce a strict "no-SPAM" policy to protect against the worsening avalanche of smut advertisements, illegal ponzi scheme chain letters, and dogmatic fringe group propaganda.