The Direct Marketing Association joined the Federal Trade Commission and several others, who prefer self-regulation to legislation that would limit or ban unsolicited commercial e-mail, in speaking about the issue at a House Telecommunications subcommittee meeting. The meeting focused on four bills introduced this year to control these communications, generally known as spam.
Although the DMA does not object to a legislative solution to unwanted commercial e-mail, it believes that “the current efforts of industry and innovations in technology render any immediate legislation unnecessary,” said Jerry Cerasale, DMA’s senior vice president of government affairs.
The hearing, chaired by Rep. W.J. Billy Tauzin, R-LA, centered upon the E-Mail User Protection Act (HR-1910); the Can Spam Act (HR-2162); the Netizens Protection Act (H.R. 3024); and the Unsolicited Electronic Mail Act (HR-3113).
The E-Mail User Protection Act would prohibit senders of unsolicited e-mail from falsely identifying themselves and using an individual’s e-mail account without authorization. The Can Spam Act, modeled after a recent California state law, would authorize Internet service providers to establish and enforce their own individual anti-spam policies.
The Netizens Protection bill, however, would impose a total ban on unsolicited commercial e-mail and authorize civil lawsuits against violators, while the fourth bill would incorporate all three measures into one.
Cerasale, recapping last week’s launch of the DMA’s E-Mail Preference Service (DPS) through which consumers could place their names on a list not to receive unsolicited e-mail, did agree that there were some fraudulent e-mails being sent to consumers.
The DMA, he said, ultimately believes that some legislation may be needed to curb e-mail fraud.
The Federal Trade Commission, through Eileen Harrington of its Consumer Protection Bureau, also endorsed that stance along with industry self-regulation, saying the agency “generally believes that economic issues related to the development and growth of electronic commerce should be left to industry, consumers and the marketplace to resolve.”
Ray Everett-church, chief privacy officer and vice president for privacy, Alladvantage.com, Hayward, CA, urged the panel not to impose “burdensome” regulations on electronic commerce. Washington lawyers Charles F. Kennedy of Morrison & Foerster and Alan Charles Raul, partner in the firm of Sidley and Austin warned the panel to carefully consider free speech and personal privacy issues before recommending adoption of any of the bills.
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