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Computing

From...

New software, not Congress, may kill spam

October 9, 1998
Web posted at: 2:40 PM EDT

by Roberta Furger

(IDG) -- If you're sick of being deluged with junk e-mail, don't look to Congress for relief. Only one pending bill is even close to passage, and it might actually increase, rather than decrease, the flow of spam.

But the computer industry may soon offer a better solution. Four of the country's largest Internet service providers are testing a spam-blocking service from San FranciscoÐbased start-up Bright Light Technologies. The ISPs, as well as some industry watchers, are hailing the technology as a breakthrough. Internet service providers may begin offering the service by November.

How the service works

ISPs that use the service will supply dummy e-mail accounts for Bright Light to use as bait for trapping bulk e-mailers. E-mail received at any of these accounts will be analyzed -- first by a set of proprietary tools, and then by Bright Light staffers -- to determine whether it is spam. If it is, Bright Light will create a software update designed to block e-mail coming from the spammer. The update will then be dispatched to ISPs that offer Bright Light service.

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Many ISPs already have spam-blocking and -filtering technology in place. But because the Bright Light solution uses the resources of multiple ISPs, it has the potential to identify and block more spam than do the solutions offered by individual ISPs, says David Card, an analyst with Jupiter Communications. In addition, the Bright Light system offers consumers more options. You can choose to block all spam or only specific types, such as adult content, says company CEO Sunil Paul.

Though the early news is good, some questions remain. First, who will pay for the spam shield? Though some ISPs plan to offer the service at no charge, Paul says that others may charge consumers a premium for the added protection. Second, how extensively will the industry accept the strategy? For the system to work, Bright Light must maintain tens of thousands of dummy e-mail accounts. If the company fails to attract enough ISPs, it won't be effective. Currently, four key players -- AT&T, Concentric Networks, EarthLink, and USA.Net -- have signed on, but more are needed.

Despite such questions, the new technology may well be consumers' best hope for combating junk e-mail in the near term. The reason? Though numerous pieces of federal legislation related to controlling spam are under consideration, the outlook isn't good.

While proposed legislation that would prohibit spam languishes in a House subcommittee, the Senate has passed a much weaker bill, SB 1618. But at press time, the House of Representatives' Commerce Committee summarily killed the anti-spam provisions in HR 3888, the corresponding House bill. That action leaves the future of federal anti-spam legislation in doubt.

As it stands, the Senate bill would authorize the Federal Trade Commission to fine bulk e-mailers who forge addresses or fail to provide both street and e-mail addresses and a telephone number of the person initiating the message.

Some critics claim, however, that since it doesn't ban spam, SB 1618 implicitly condones it and could prompt an increase in junk e-mail traffic.

Meanwhile, many states are taking matters into their own hands. One of the first to act was Washington state, which now prohibits spammers from using false headers (a subterfuge that prevents angry recipients from replying) or using misleading subject lines that entice consumers to open junk mail. Pending California legislation would permit ISPs to sue spammers for damages of up to $25,000 per day for sending electronic junk mail. At press time, the bill was on Governor Pete Wilson's desk, and he was expected to sign it.

More spam in your future

Enactment of the feeble Senate bill might not mean an end to federal anti-spam legislation, according to Ray Everett-Church, who is cofounder and legal counsel for the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail-- one of the most vocal of all anti-spam groups--in Washington, D.C. "If the [Senate] bill goes through as it currently stands, the spam problem will explode," predicts Everett-Church. This result would force Congress to reconsider alternative remedies.

In the meantime, though, consumers and their ISPs can only hope that technological solutions will give them the edge in the ongoing battle to put a lid on spam.

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