Bill to limit spam nearing approval
Mr. Bun: Morning.
Waitress: Morning.
Mr. Bun: Well, what you got?
Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg, bacon and spam; egg, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, egg, spam, spam, bacon and spam; spam, sausage, spam, spam, spam, bacon, spam, tomato and spam; spam, spam, spam, egg and spam; (Vikings start singing in background) spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam and spam.
Vikings: Spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam, lovely spam.
Waitress: (cont) or lobster thermador ecrovets with a bournaise sause, served in the purple salm Mr. Bunor with chalots and overshies, garnished with truffle pate, brandy, a fried egg on top and spam.
Mrs. Bun: Have you got anything without spam?
Waitress: Well, there's spam, egg, sausage and spam. That's not got much spam in it.
Hey, I (and about 250 million other Americans) am all over this one. SOMETHING needs to be done, and I applaud Congress for finally gets off their collective arse and doing something to earn their bloated self-determined salaries.
Just one question, though: how in the hell is anyone going to be able to enforce a spam ban??
WASHINGTON -- Congress moved significantly closer to the first-ever federal protections against unwanted commercial e-mails with the House passing a bill today that would impose new limits on sending irritating offers on the Internet. Final approval by lawmakers could come before Thanksgiving.
The measure would outlaw the shadiest techniques used by many of the Internet's most prolific e-mailers and include penalties up to five years in prison in rare circumstances.
But it also would supplant even tougher anti-spam laws already passed in some states, including a California law scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
Passed on a 392-5 vote, the House bill largely mirrors "Can Spam" legislation the Senate approved last month. Supporters hoped slight differences between the two measures could be resolved before Congress adjourns for the year. The Bush administration has supported anti-spam efforts.
In a statement issued by the departments of Justice and Commerce, the administration said the bill "will help address some of the problems associated with the rapid growth and abuse of spam by establishing a framework of technological, administrative, civil, and criminal tools, and by providing consumers with options to reduce the volume of unwanted e-mail."
The statement said the administration also believes anti-spam technology will need to improve.
"Now we can go back to looking forward to opening our inboxes in the morning because we'll have notes from our friends rather than herbal supplements and mortgage offers," said Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M.
Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, called the effort "an important first step in restoring consumers' control over their inboxes."
Yes, it is a wonderful idea, but how does Congress plan to stop spammers, most of whom are sophisticated enough to route their nefarious work through Third World countries? Before I get all excited about no longer getting ads for penis enlargers or extended auto warranties, I'm going to want to see this plan with a bit more flesh on it's bones.
It would be nice to finally see our legal system get on top of spam once and for all, but the nature of the beast is that the bad guys are always one step ahead of the laws. In a world where porn sites are the cutting edge of on-line technology, it's not exactly a stretch to believe that someone will figure out a way around a spam ban- and probably before the ink is dry on the bill.
The legislation will would "end all of that nonsense and bring peace of mind back to everyone who sends and receives e-mail," said Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, R-La., the Energy and Commerce Committee's chairman.
If only it were that simple. This law, if it passes, was written and debated by a deliberative body that, by and large, doesn't have a clue about the technology they are attempting to bring under control. This is why I'm not holding my breath just yet....