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I hate spammers:2gunsfiri :2gunsfiri
they can kiss my ass for all I care
I hope this bill passes soon
TAMPA - The same law used to jail gangsters would be used to clamp down on Internet ``spammers'' under a new bill by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
Nelson on Monday announced he wants to apply the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, statute to unsolicited commercial e-mail.
Under his proposal, which he plans to file today in Washington, it would become a federal crime to send bulk e-mails with fraudulent or forged information, such as a fake name in the ``From'' box or a bogus return address. The worst offenders then could be prosecuted under RICO.
Several other federal legislators have proposed antispam bills, but Nelson claims his is the first to invoke RICO.
``People in this country are getting fed up,'' Nelson said at a Tampa news conference Monday. `` ... They can't even use their e-mail because it gets congested with these things.''
Unsolicited commercial e-mail today makes up about 45 percent of all e-mail in the United States, up from 16 percent a year and a half ago, said Brightmail Inc., a San Francisco maker of antispam software. Maybe worse, much of it is deceptive, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC studied a random sample of 1,000 spam e-mails and found that 66 percent had some form of deception in the ``From'' box, the ``Subject'' box or in the message itself.
One deception: Enticing someone to open an e-mail with a message such as ``Here's your moving info,'' when it actually is a pornographic message, said Brian Huseman, an FTC attorney.
There are laws in at least 29 states curbing spam, although Florida does not. But, most provide for only civil penalties against serial spammers, which have rarely been used, said Mark Lemley, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
Under Nelson's bill, it would become a federal crime to:
* Forge or send fraudulent destination, routing or subject header information in unsolicited bulk e-mails;
* Send e-mail to anyone who requests not to receive unsolicited e-mail;
* Collect e-mail addresses from public and private places to send unsolicited bulk e-mail. And, anyone sending it must give people a way to opt out of future e-mails.
Those violating the ban would be subject to fines and imprisonment of up to five years, Nelson said. It would not stop legitimate e-mail solicitations, Nelson said.
Nelson's proposal would be one of at least four antispam bills floating around Congress. Among them, U.S. Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Ron Wyden D-Ore., are co-sponsoring a bill making it a crime to send unsolicited commercial e-mail with a misleading header or message.
Nelson's bill is different because it would make serial spamming subject to the RICO statute, a law to shut down criminal enterprises such as gambling and drug trafficking. For RICO to apply, the spammer would have to be accused of something more than sending misleading e-mail, such as ripping off investors.
Two legal experts had differing opinions on Nelson's proposal. John Fitzgibbons, a former federal prosecutor who is now a Tampa criminal defense lawyer, said RICO would allow private citizens and companies to sue a serial spammer for money damages. For example, a company might sue a spammer for the time its employees waste opening unwanted e-mail.
But David Sorkin, a law professor at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, said such bills could make the spam problem worse. Nelson's bill could cut back on the 100 or 200 people sending fraudulent e-mail, but thousands of people will feel it is now perfectly acceptable to send nonfraudulent spam.
they can kiss my ass for all I care
I hope this bill passes soon
TAMPA - The same law used to jail gangsters would be used to clamp down on Internet ``spammers'' under a new bill by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
Nelson on Monday announced he wants to apply the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, statute to unsolicited commercial e-mail.
Under his proposal, which he plans to file today in Washington, it would become a federal crime to send bulk e-mails with fraudulent or forged information, such as a fake name in the ``From'' box or a bogus return address. The worst offenders then could be prosecuted under RICO.
Several other federal legislators have proposed antispam bills, but Nelson claims his is the first to invoke RICO.
``People in this country are getting fed up,'' Nelson said at a Tampa news conference Monday. `` ... They can't even use their e-mail because it gets congested with these things.''
Unsolicited commercial e-mail today makes up about 45 percent of all e-mail in the United States, up from 16 percent a year and a half ago, said Brightmail Inc., a San Francisco maker of antispam software. Maybe worse, much of it is deceptive, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC studied a random sample of 1,000 spam e-mails and found that 66 percent had some form of deception in the ``From'' box, the ``Subject'' box or in the message itself.
One deception: Enticing someone to open an e-mail with a message such as ``Here's your moving info,'' when it actually is a pornographic message, said Brian Huseman, an FTC attorney.
There are laws in at least 29 states curbing spam, although Florida does not. But, most provide for only civil penalties against serial spammers, which have rarely been used, said Mark Lemley, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
Under Nelson's bill, it would become a federal crime to:
* Forge or send fraudulent destination, routing or subject header information in unsolicited bulk e-mails;
* Send e-mail to anyone who requests not to receive unsolicited e-mail;
* Collect e-mail addresses from public and private places to send unsolicited bulk e-mail. And, anyone sending it must give people a way to opt out of future e-mails.
Those violating the ban would be subject to fines and imprisonment of up to five years, Nelson said. It would not stop legitimate e-mail solicitations, Nelson said.
Nelson's proposal would be one of at least four antispam bills floating around Congress. Among them, U.S. Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Ron Wyden D-Ore., are co-sponsoring a bill making it a crime to send unsolicited commercial e-mail with a misleading header or message.
Nelson's bill is different because it would make serial spamming subject to the RICO statute, a law to shut down criminal enterprises such as gambling and drug trafficking. For RICO to apply, the spammer would have to be accused of something more than sending misleading e-mail, such as ripping off investors.
Two legal experts had differing opinions on Nelson's proposal. John Fitzgibbons, a former federal prosecutor who is now a Tampa criminal defense lawyer, said RICO would allow private citizens and companies to sue a serial spammer for money damages. For example, a company might sue a spammer for the time its employees waste opening unwanted e-mail.
But David Sorkin, a law professor at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, said such bills could make the spam problem worse. Nelson's bill could cut back on the 100 or 200 people sending fraudulent e-mail, but thousands of people will feel it is now perfectly acceptable to send nonfraudulent spam.
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