Clearly Spam is illegal if it promotes an illegal product or service. However, spam legislation is pending in the U.S. and Europe that would make the mere act of sending an unsolicited commercial email illegal in the absence of an existing business relationship. The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial email (CAUCE) applauds the tough proposed European legislation, but opposed the 630 would establish UCE as a legislative practice. The bonus would be upon the recipient to 'opt out' of the mailing list by unsubscribing. In the event of non-compliance on the part of the spammer, it would be up to the ISP to trace them and take action (most end-users lack the sophistication to trace an email back to a physical real-world company or individual). Fines of up to $10 per illegal Spam would be levied. The CAUCE argues that since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the only enforcing body,
given the large number of Spam emails it is unlikely that an serious enforcement would ever take place. CAUCE takes the position that the recipient's email resources are private property and liens UCE to placing advertising billboards on their property at no charge.
Proposed European legislation is much tougher and many believe it would help get rid of Spam. It will require prior consent from the recipient before receiving unsolicited commercial electronic communications including SMS, fax, and email. The directive has already been published in the Official Journal of the Economic and Monetary Union and is expected to be implemented in member states by October 31st 2003.
Originally Posted by MentaL
