The war on spam moved into high gear this week. First, those improbable allies AOL, MSN and Yahoo! have joined together to fight spam.
In the U.S. Congress, two bills are being introduced, both targeting spam from very different angles. The first bill will be introduced by Senator Charles Schumer, and will establish a do-not-e-mail list similar to the do-not-call lists established to stop telemarketing. The second, named the Restrict and Eliminate Delivery of Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (REDUCE) Spam Act, will offer a “bounty” for identifying and reporting a spammer, equal to 20% of the fine levied by the Federal Trade Commission against the spammer. Good luck with that one.
Finally, Virginia has enacted probably the toughest anti-spam law in the country, making it a felony to send spam through fraudulent practices.