New legislation would allow spammers to be sued

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer has been promising for weeks to introduce an antispam bill, and on Thursday he unveiled a bill that would allow recipients of unsolicited commercial e-mail to sue spammers.

The liberal New York Democrat received support from a group he's never worked with before, the Christian Coalition of America, while announcing the bill. Schumer and the Christian Coalition called themselves a "political odd couple."

"The avalanche of pornography being sent to kids by spammers makes checking e-mail on par with watching an X-rated movie," Schumer said in a statement. "Parents need to be able to keep offensive material out of the family room and I'm working with the Christian Coalition to do just that. The bottom line is that America's children have been under attack for a long time -- from violent TV shows, racy music videos, and now pornographic spam."

A Christian Coalition spokeswoman said Friday Schumer's bill, called the Stop Pornography and Abusive Marketing (SPAM) Act, appeals to the group because of its focus on eliminating adult-themed spam. "It's good legislation," said spokeswoman Michele Ammons. "We're all about the family, We have received quite a few calls and e-mails from members complaining about pornographic spam."

Schumer and the Christian Coalition cited several statistics in touting the need for the legislation. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reported that adult-themed pictures appear in almost one out of every five emails that spammers use to advertise adult web sites, and in a survey this month by Symantec Corp., 47 percent of children reported receiving junk e-mail with links to pornographic Web sites. A 2001 U.S. Department of Commerce study found that 75 percent of 14- to 17-year-olds and 65 percent of 10- to 13-year-olds used the Internet.

Schumer's bill would allow state attorneys general, Internet service providers and e-mail recipients to file civil suits against spammers. Antispam groups, including the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE), have called for the ability of e-mail recipients to sue spammers, and this is the first bill of seven introduced in Congress this year that would directly allow private lawsuits.

Others, including Montana Republic Senator Conrad Burns, cosponsor of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, argue that private lawsuits would be more of a boon for lawyers than a spam deterrent.

Schumer's bill would also:

-- Requires e-mail marketers to label commercial e-mail with "ADV." Schumer argued this would allow ISPs and e-mail users to filter unwanted e-mail, but some antispam advocates suggest such a label will only harm legitimate marketers, because those sending illegal spam won't comply.

-- Requires commercial e-mail to have accurate subject headings, and header and router information.

-- Requires commercial e-mail to have functional unsubscribe instructions. Some antispam advocates have criticized similar "opt-out" legislation, saying it legitimizes the first round of spam sent to an e-mail user. Groups such as CAUCE have called on Congress to require all commercial e-mail to be sent only after a customer has opted in to receive it.