Politicians look for spam solutions
Oct 07, 2003
U.S. firms are losing up to 10 billion dollars a year on the removal of spam from networks.
U.S. firms are losing up to 10 billion dollars a year on the removal of spam from networks.
Performance enhancers, cheap credit and wonder diets: regular e-mail users have probably seen more than their share of unsolicited ads for these and other unwanted products and services.
These so-called spam messages, say experts, now make up some 30% of data traffic on the web. for private users, these dubious offerings are an annoyance. for business and government agencies, however, filtering out these onerous messages costs both time and money. for Internet service providers, the flood of unwanted e-mail puts stress on their infrastructure.
In a recent American statistical review of the situation, experts found that 45% of all e-mail in America are spam. U.S. firms are losing up to $10b a year on “computer hygiene,†that is, the removal of spam from their networks.
Countries are handling the problem differently. In the united States, talks are ongoing about the establishment of a national do-not-e-mail registry.
In Germany, the law states that it is not illegal to send electronic advertisements so long as the recipient has not expressly requested not to get it. Politicians from many countries echo the sentiments of Ulrich Kelber, the spam liaison for Germany’s ruling SPD faction in the lower house of Parliament.
“We want to avoid new regulation as much as is humanly possible,†Kelber says.
Performance enhancers, cheap credit and wonder diets: regular e-mail users have probably seen more than their share of unsolicited ads for these and other unwanted products and services.
These so-called spam messages, say experts, now make up some 30% of data traffic on the web. for private users, these dubious offerings are an annoyance. for business and government agencies, however, filtering out these onerous messages costs both time and money. for Internet service providers, the flood of unwanted e-mail puts stress on their infrastructure.
In a recent American statistical review of the situation, experts found that 45% of all e-mail in America are spam. U.S. firms are losing up to $10b a year on “computer hygiene,†that is, the removal of spam from their networks.
Countries are handling the problem differently. In the united States, talks are ongoing about the establishment of a national do-not-e-mail registry.
In Germany, the law states that it is not illegal to send electronic advertisements so long as the recipient has not expressly requested not to get it. Politicians from many countries echo the sentiments of Ulrich Kelber, the spam liaison for Germany’s ruling SPD faction in the lower house of Parliament.
“We want to avoid new regulation as much as is humanly possible,†Kelber says.