[Ecommerce] Proposed TACD statement of junk email

[James Love]

Junk Email


The use of unsolicited commercial email is a growing burden for persons
who use email.  Consumers need better mechanisms to control and manage
unwanted commercial solicitations.  Governments should require mandatory
labeling of unsolicited commerical solitications by electronic mail, so
that consumers can use computers to sort of block such announcements. 

Op-out systems are not a sufficient protection for consumers, and it is
very difficult to control the continued recycling of names on new mailing
lists.   

Junk email is an international problem, and governments need to work
together to develop common standards for labeling junk email.  The
character and nature of unsolicited commercial internet messages will
change over time.  For now, governments could begin by requiring every
unsolicited commercial email announcement to use the following four
characters in the beginning of the subject line:  ADV:



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James Love 
Center for Study of Responsive Law | Consumer Project on Technology 
P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036 | http://www.cptech.org
Voice 202/387-8030 | Fax 202/234-5176 | love@cptech.org