Farewell spam?
...and on the fifth day of the ninth month of 2007 the tide of spam did cease and the multitude were glad thereof. Yeah, right! But today is the day the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act comes into effect.
What effect is it likely to have? Not much, according to Bruce Simpson: "...don't expect a bunch of half-arsed, poorly thought out, unlikely to be upheld bunch of red tape is going to slow down any real kiwi spammer or any of the idiots from GodZone who pollute your mailbox with ponzi schemes."
According to Computerworld, a series of bureaucratic wrist-slapping wet bus tickets have been prepared: "The [Department of Internal Affairs Anti-Spam Unit] encourages voluntary compliance with the act, but if someone carries on spamming that business or individual will receive a formal letter saying the spammer is breaching the act. The next step is a formal warning and, if that doesn’t work, court action will eventually be taken..."
Would it be churlish to wonder just were those formal letters will be sent? The spam I get doesn't seem to have physical addresses attached.
There are provisions for fines of up to $2,000 per infringement, but with the vast bulk of spam coming from offshore, don't ditch SpamAssassin yet!
PC World is New Zealand’s top selling computing and technology magazine.
Comments
Spam will still come as most of the spam comes from outside NZ. most comes from Nigeria
Posted by: Tim | September 9, 2007 8:34 PM
Since most of the spam generated originates overseas, local laws will have no effect - what is required is an international convention so that spammers are put out of business in their country of Origin. Take Discount Pharmacy on Line - 2 image spam e-mails a day for Prescription Medicines from a Company that claims it is in Canada. It probably isn't but the only people who can shut them down is the Government of the country from which they are operating.
Posted by: Kenneth E. Smith | September 7, 2007 6:08 PM
"There’s laws against theft but that doesn't mean we leave our valuables out". It's not the same thing at all. There are just so many reasons for giving out your email address to friends, acquaintances, software registration, to be able to use most internet services etc etc etc... Your email address isn't like a password or back acc number that you would be a fool to disclose, it's the normal everyday way of communicating using the internet so you can't reasonably keep it secret without losing functionality. You can of course have public and private email addresses but none of this helps in cutting down on spam. The absolute best way to stop spam (as stated in PC World several times) is for nobody to ever reply or use any products or services advertised using spam. Sending spammers an email asking them to stop doesn't help against an illegal spammers, it just confirms your email address is active.
Maybe restricting the number of identical emails someone is able to send without being investigated by the spam police or fining the companies who are offering the products and services the spam advertises might help.
Personally I feel we have far to many rules and regulations in NZ with a steady flow of new ones constantly being created. It’s gone way to far and is having a negative effect on innovation and the implementation of new ideas.
Posted by: Adam | September 7, 2007 4:23 AM
Laws do help and this one is a welcome step in the process of making this world spam-free. I believe an effort needs to be done from the end of end user, who wants to avoid spam. We need to ensure that we protect our privacy and avoid letting the spammers know of our address.
There are laws against theft but that doesn't mean we leave our valuables lying out in the open!
Posted by: Shashank Rana | September 5, 2007 7:28 PM
well more useless, annoying pathetic laws being passed
what will the goverment come up with next?
Posted by: Michael | September 5, 2007 2:57 PM