 November 26, 2003
The bipartisan CAN SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) Act of 2003 (S. 877) imposes limitations and penalties on the transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail via the Internet. The bill also includes a number of tough civil and criminal penalties against the senders of unlawful unsolicited e-mail, and addresses a number of other issues including the creation of a "do not spam" list and special warnings for pornographic messages. "The Internet has created a new way to communicate and share important information," said Murkowski. "Unfortunately, having your inbox filled with dozens of unwanted sales ads has turned this convenience into a headache for many Alaskans and this legislation is an important step toward giving consumers back control of their email," said Murkowski. "The CAN SPAM Act is a consumer protection bill, much like the no-call registry bill which recently passed Congress. E-mail is supposed to improve communications, not hinder them," she said. Murkowski noted that unsolicited e-mail now accounts for almost 50 percent of all Internet email traffic. Worldwide, more than 13 billion spam e-mail messages are sent each day. Costs in the United States alone have been estimated at $10 billion per year, due to expenses for anti-spam equipment and manpower and lost productivity.
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