The United Nations has proposed that Internet service providers be forced by legislation to combat spam.
The International Telecommunication Union—the UN group responsible for global telecommunications standards—recommended last week that ISPs be required to enforce codes of conduct on their customers, and block spammers’ e-mail access, according to reports.
The group said that while anti-spam laws have made a dent in the problem, hunting down and prosecuting spammers is too expensive for some countries.
Also, while most ISPs are diligent about fighting spam, some smaller ISPs profit from hosting spammers, the group said.
The group contends that laws forcing ISPs to enforce codes of conduct on their customers would encourage the spam-hosting ISPs to toe the line, according to reports.
That’s right, let’s come up with one world-encompassing, initiative-stifling law. While we’re at it, let’s get Utah’s legislators to draw it up. They’re proven professionals at drawing up anti-spam legislation that threatens legitimate, law-abiding businesses while doing nothing to combat spam.
Better yet, the U.N. could start an anti-spam council. If it ends up being anything like the U.N.’s human rights council—which has such beacons of freedom as Sudan and China as members—former self-proclaimed spam king Sanford Wallace could resurface as the U.N. anti-spam council chairman.
