Yet another anti-spam bill, one that would allow U.S. prosecutors to pursue spammers as racketeers, was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL).
The distinguishing part of Nelson’s bill is it would classify spammers as racketeers as defined under the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The filing of RICO counts would allow authorities seize spammers’ assets, according to Nelson’s office.
"Using the RICO law will let us hit the bad guys where it really hurts—in the pocket," Nelson said in a statement.
Nelson’s bill would prohibit the transmitting of unsolicited e-mail from either domestic or foreign sources if the messages contain false routing information or forged e-mail addresses. It would also, like the other bills being considered, require the sender to provide an opt-out mechanism.
Nelson, who has added his name as co-sponsor to the CAN-spam bill introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Conrad Burns, hopes to work with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who recently introduced anti-spam legislation in the House. Lofgren’s bill would allow the Federal Trade Commission to pay a bounty to people who locate spammers.
This means there will be many competing bills for the Senate to consider. Nelson said his bill differs from the CAN-spam act because the latter is focused mainly on the nuisance factor of unsolicited e-mail.
However, the Wyden-Burns bill also prohibits fraudulent e-mail headers and information.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) has said he plans to introduce a bill establishing a national do-not-spam list.
Wyden, speaking at the Direct Marketing Association’s Government Affairs Conference this week, said that the country needs a "national standard" for spam. "You can’t have a crazy quilt of state laws. Spam and the Internet do not know state borders.
However, the Illinois Senate has passed a law requiring e-mail to be clearly labeled as advertising or pornography, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The bill would prohibit the sale of e-mail addresses of consumers who have opted out. And it would require that e-mailers establish a toll free number or reply address that consumers can use to opt out, the Tribune reported.
The bill has been sent to Gov. Rod Blagoevich for signature, but he has not yet decided to sign it, the paper continued.
