WASHINGTON, JULY 9, 2003 - "The daily routine of using e-mail is under assault through spam," stated Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee. "Recent estimates suggest that as much of half of all e-mail is unwanted commercial solicitations. Of course, some one bears the cost of spam and that someone, ultimately, is the consumer who receives the passed on costs from service providers and who loses time and productivity going through spam."
Witnesses testified before a joint hearing held by Stearns and Rep. Fred Upton, Chairman of the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee. Stearns, an original co-sponsor of H.R. 2214, the Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act, noted that effective legislation "is only part of the solution - technology, consumer education, and industry cooperation, in my view, are also essential elements." H.R. 2214 includes criminal penalties for falsifying the sender's identity in a commercial e-mail or for failing to place an FTC warning on pornographic spam. The measure empowers consumers by requiring all commercial e-mail to include a clear identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and a notice of the opportunity for consumers to opt-out of receiving further commercial e-mail. In addition, H.R. 2214 provides the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with broad enforcement authority.
Howard Beales, testifying on behalf of the FTC, outlined the three issues effective spam legislation must address. "First, legislation must address how to find the person sending the spam messages. Second, legislation must deal with how to deter the person sending the spam messages. Finally, legislation must determine what standards will govern non-deceptive, unsolicited commercial e-mail.
Witnesses spoke favorably about spam legislation, including H.R. 2214. Ira Rubinstein of Microsoft testified, "A number of important legislative proposals have been introduced along these lines, including H.R. 2214 and 2515, and we commend the sponsors of these bills for their insight and look forward to continuing to work with them to craft effective anti-spam legislation. Paul Misener with Amazon.com testified that Amazon.com believes that H.R. 2214 and other spam legislation "would wisely distinguish between actions that may be plausibly by mistakes and those that almost certainly involve unlawful intent."
"I appreciated this opportunity to learn what essential elements must be incorporated in effective spam legislation. In addition, I will discuss with my colleagues the idea of incorporating language to encourage accountability through the adoption of certain 'best practices' by e-mail marketers and setting up a 'safe harbor' for responsible entities. I look forward to continuing to work toward developing and enacting bi-partisan, anti-spam legislation," concluded Stearns.
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