Congress May Revisit Can Spam
In a move that should be of great concern to marketers, a Congressional committee has indicated it may hold hearings on the Can-Spam Act of 2003 to assess whether the law needs to be changed.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce in January sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission chair Deborah Platt Majoras expressing concern over reports of the rising volume of spam e-mail.
“As you know, Congress passed legislation in 2003, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act to put a lid on this problem,” said the letter.
“What we have learned recently raises concerns that Can-Spam has not really helped to solve the underlying problem,” the letter continued. “We are considering holding hearings to look into the impact of the statute, including its implementation and enforcement, and the need, if any, for changes to the law.”
The letter gave Majoras until Feb. 8 to respond. A press contact for the committee said the FTC’s response has not been made public yet.
Many have criticized the Can-Spam Act as ineffective because after the law was passed in 2003, spam levels on the Internet did not drop. Also, anti-spammers criticize it because it is opt-out based, meaning it is legal to send someone unsolicited e-mail until they say they no longer want it.
However, the act has been used more than any other piece of legislation in the world to prosecute fraudulent spammers.
By the committee’s own reckoning, Can-Spam has been used by the FTC, the Department of Justice, state attorneys general and Internet service providers to bring more than 90 prosecutions. It has also resulted in millions of dollars in fines and settlements.
