Spam alert

David Benaym · November 24, 2003

Translated from the French. Original: La Dernière Heure, November 24, 2003 · French version

SPAM ALERT

(24/11/2003)

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT IN NEW YORK,

The US Congress passes a law to fight unwanted email

NEW YORK

“Raise your standard of living while staying at home… Discover the pill that makes you 20 years younger… Lose 30 kilos in less than 3 weeks while eating normally…”

So many advertising pitches that you have probably already received in your email inbox.

English speakers may be more aware of it, since most of these unsolicited emails are in English, but the problem is now global. The principle of spam is simple: when you surf the Internet, buy a product on a shopping site and leave your email address, professional pirates intercept your data without you noticing and use it for commercial purposes.

According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, this junk mail now accounts for nearly 50% of email traffic worldwide. For a few months, members of the US Congress have been debating a bill to fight these email invasions. Unlike viruses, for which an antidote is quickly found, there is no effective anti-spam program. One opened spam can lead to ten more. Some of these files even contain hidden viruses. Without powerful filters, without a law to defend themselves, consumers were until now stuck in a dead end overrun with slogans.

This week is therefore crucial for all Internet users. Since 53.4% of spam comes from American companies, it was important for Washington to crack down. Heather Wilson, a Republican member of Congress who has been fighting for a law for more than 6 years, said that “what was just a nuisance before has become a real nightmare”. And it is to ease this nightmare that the House of Representatives voted almost unanimously (392 votes to 5) for a text that allows Internet users to considerably reduce the number of these emails. But this law is also very favourable to marketers. Indeed, this legislation legalises a practice that has existed for a long time. It allows advertising messages to be sent to Internet users without their permission. The sender of this kind of mail only has to provide the recipient with a valid address, so that they can express their wish to be removed from the marketing list. Yet it is well known that the reply addresses included in spam are used not to unsubscribe the user, but above all to check that the address is valid.

The law is not perfect, but it adds a legal dimension to this unregulated advertising. One of the tools that will now have to be available in every email is the possibility of permanently removing oneself from advertisers’ mailing lists. If they keep sending messages, often pornographic or containing false advertising, “spammers” will face up to five years in prison and heavy fines of up to six million dollars.

But this law concerns only the United States, and it is a safe bet that the clever operators of clandestine advertising will relocate to send their filth through other networks. Until the Senate confirms the law this week and President George W. Bush signs it, never open these spams and give a substitute address when you sign up online.

D.B.