Spam law lauded, but effect uncertain

AUGUSTA – If you have an e-mail account, you undoubtedly have received unsolicited commercial e-mail, commonly called “spam.” This weekend, Maine joins a growing list of states trying to curb all those ads that hawk everything from credit cards to Viagra.

While lauding the state’s effort, however, some regard it as futile.

“I don’t know if the state of Maine has a budget big enough to prosecute all these people,” said University of Maine professor George Markowsky, chairman of the computer science department. “I applaud the Legislature of Maine for trying to do something about spam, but I don’t think this will do much.”

The new law, which takes effect Sept. 14, will require all unsolicited e-mail to have “ADV” in the subject line, or “ADV: ADLT” if the e-mail contains material that only should be viewed by someone 18 or older.

The new law allows the state or an individual to sue for damages of $250 for each e-mail that doesn’t include the ADV designation and allows an Internet service provider to sue for up to $1,000 per improper e-mail sent by a spammer.

“I think allowing people to sue will get their attention,” said Rep. Albion Goodwin, D-Pembroke, sponsor of the legislation. “I really think this will help.”

But while Goodwin is optimistic, Markowsky is not alone in his skepticism of the actual impact of the new law.

Assistant Attorney General Linda Conti, director of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, said her office does not have the staff to bring action against spammers unless one is found in Maine.

“My plan is to directly forward any complaints we get to the Federal Trade Commission database,” she said. “They can look at developing national trends and do what is needed to protect consumers.”

Conti said the FTC already prosecutes spammers that violate federal consumer protection laws. She said Congress needs to give the FTC additional authority to block unsolicited commercial e-mail even when it seeks to sell a legitimate product or service.

“No state has the resources to go after these people alone, even those states with far more resources than Maine,” said Conti.

Markowsky said while individuals are inconvenienced by having to delete large numbers of unwarranted e-mails, businesses and institutions such as hospitals and colleges are hurt financially. He said organizations and companies have had to buy larger capacity computers to handle spam, as well as pay for filters to try to reduce the spam. Some studies estimate that a third to half of all

e-mail is spam.

“This is a huge problem,” Markowsky said. “There are many estimates of what the costs are to businesses, and they are all significant. Maine is no different than the rest of the country.”

Several different studies this year all have estimated the cost to business, industry and institutions to total several billion dollars a year. Ferris Research Inc., of San Francisco estimates spam will cost U.S. firms and organizations more than $10 billion this year. That figure includes lost productivity as well as the additional equipment, software and manpower needed to combat spam.

“This is a federal problem,” Markowsky said. “Congress needs to act, or all the states need to act together, to get to this problem.”

But there are fierce battles under way in Washington over how to limit spam because of the economics involved. Many businesses do not want to lose the ability to use e-mail for marketing because it costs less than a penny to send each

e-mail.

There are several proposals under consideration. For example, the European Union adopted an “opt-in” system last year, in which companies have to wait for consumers to agree they are willing to receive unsolicited commercial e-mail.

But most marketers and Internet service providers are arguing for an “opt-out” system along the lines of the do-not-call list established to limit telemarketing phone calls. Under those proposals, consumers would have to sign up on a list to block spam.

Conti said even if Congress does act, the problem will not likely go away entirely. She pointed to the number of spam e-mails that originate overseas.

Goodwin acknowledged that his law will not block all e-mail spam. He said one of the reasons for passing the law is to spur Congress into taking action.

“If we can get more states on board with this, I think that will put pressure on the Congress,” he said. “I am going to push this as a CSG [Council of State Governments] priority this fall, and by God, if we get all 50 states on board I bet Congress will sit up and listen.”

To file a spam complaint with the Maine attorney general, send an e-mail to consumer.mediation@maine.gov or call the office at (800) 436-2131 between 9 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday.