Anti-spam law begins with doubt abounding

A new federal anti-spam law that takes effect Thursday is aiming to limit the junk e-mail that clutters the in-boxes of millions of Americans, but local Internet providers and users remain doubtful that it will noticeably reduce the spam deluge.

"I don't see how it's going to stop it," said Danny Stratton, operations manager of the nonprofit provider Show Me Net, which has about 3,500 Internet customers in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Perry counties. "It may cut back on a few of the honest spammers. But most of these people who send out spam are lower than crooks."

Earlier this month, President Bush signed the Can-Spam Act into law. It pre-empts all existing state statutes on the regulation of spam, the nickname for the vast array of often unwanted e-mail that ranges from sexually explicit messages to Viagra promotions to investment schemes.

The act doesn't make spam illegal, but it does set standards for unsolicited commercial e-mails. The act prohibits senders from falsifying or disguising their true identity, bans the use of misleading subject lines, requires the inclusion of a legitimate return e-mail and physical postal address for the sender and requires messages with sexually oriented material to be clearly identified.

It also prohibits businesses from knowingly promoting themselves through false or misleading e-mails, requires the inclusion of a functioning opt-out mechanism and authorizes the exploration of a national do-not-spam list.

The new law will authorize the Federal Trade Commission and the states' attorneys general to enforce its provisions. The penalties call for jail time and levies civil fines of up to $2 million.

But Gene Magnus, who owns Clas Computers in Cape Girardeau, said the problem is that companies not based in the United States will not be bound by the new law. He said a "tremendous amount" of the spam comes from overseas.

FTC chairman Timothy Muris has acknowledged certain shortcomings, saying there "will be difficulties in prosecuting people from outside the U.S."

Muris also voiced skepticism about the effectiveness of a do-not-spam list that would be similar to the no-call list that applies to telemarketers. Muris said that since most spammers are not legitimate, the "attractiveness of a do-not-spam registry is in doubt."

The Bush administration has admitted that the federal law alone won't stop spam, but said it provides a well-balanced approach that will help to address some of the harmful impacts of spam.

"I don't see how it could hurt," said Archie Sprengel, who is the director of operations and support systems at Southeast Missouri State University, which receives 26,000 messages a day.

Sprengel gets more than 100 e-mails a day that he considers spam. That causes him to delete legitimate messages as he's hurrying through the junk.

Some experts blame spam for nearly $20 billion in lost work time and expenses worldwide.

But Sprengel said he doesn't think the new law will make a significant impact.

"I hope that it does help, but I'm skeptical that it will."

Joni Adams is the webmaster at Southeast Missouri Hospital. When she comes to work after a weekend, there can be as many as 300 to 400 spam e-mails on her computer.

She hates spam.

"Even the subject lines make me blush," she said. "I'm very concerned because children are getting these too. As a parent, I find it very distressing. I don't know if this is the answer, but something needs to be done. I don't want my kids learning about the darker side of life from e-mail."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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