Feds call for global spam fight

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has joined international partners in a call for a more international fight against spam. The agency supports the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in its recommendations for stepped up cross-border law enforcement cooperation and increased cooperation between governments and private organizations to combat junk e-mail, it said in a statement Thursday.

"Spam poses unique challenges for law enforcement in that senders can send their messages from anywhere in the world to anyone in the world," the FTC said in a statement. This makes spam an international problem, the agency said. The FTC already works with governments abroad. The agency has also asked Congress to enact the US SAFE WEB Act, which would give it new tools to cooperate with foreign counterparts in fighting spam and other types of cross-border fraud.

[Jackson Cracker]

FTC = morons

This is the same FTC that told us just a few months ago that the CAN-SPAM Act was working well.

[rhett121]

The only way to STOP SPAM!

The ONLY way they will EVER stop spam is to place the blame
directly on the products being sold. For instance, the only
reason to send spam is to sell something, go after the
companies who's products are being sold. I don't care if Viagra
has anything to do with the email or not, if someone is trying to
sell me Viagra in a spam message,Viagra is the end beneficiary
and should be held responsible! If they don't like it then they can
crack down on their own distribution channels.
Do the same thing to all of these stupid home mortgages and
diet pills as well. When you start to really put the smack down on
the spam, it will stop!

[rhett121]

The only way to STOP SPAM!

The ONLY way they will EVER stop spam is to place the blame
directly on the products being sold. For instance, the only
reason to send spam is to sell something, go after the
companies who's products are being sold. I don't care if Viagra
has anything to do with the email or not, if someone is trying to
sell me Viagra in a spam message,Viagra is the end beneficiary
and should be held responsible! If they don't like it then they can
crack down on their own distribution channels.
Do the same thing to all of these stupid home mortgages and
diet pills as well. When you start to really put the smack down on
the spam, it will stop!

[Johnny Mnemonic]

That would be too obvious

Government doesn't work that way. It is a
bureaucracy after all. In the end a bureaucracy's
main purpose is to propagate and maintain itself.
An example would be to create new working groups
to study the problem or create a new division
to supposedly "solve" the problem. Obvious solutions
never play a part in this cycle.

[wbenton]

Bottom Line: Responsibility...

SPAM gets out because somebody sent it via an ISP onto the internet.

That said... hold the ISP responsible for what comes out of that ISP's network.

The problem must be stopped at the root... the SPAMMER. And the way that spammer gets on the internet is via an ISP.

If an ISP monitors their networks... they'll immediately know who is and who is not spamming... even if the ISP's E-mail system is not being used.

Outbound port 25 SHOLD BE BLOCKED by ALL ISP's around the world.

Not stopping SPAM which dissiminates from an ISP's network is the root of the problem. THus it MUST BE stopped at it's root... the ISP.

That said... those who don't stop SPAM need their internet plug pulled!

Repeat... those who don't stop SPAM need their internet plug pulled.

It's really easy... deny that ISP access to the backbone of the internet. Block it entirely.

If companies and/or individuals are some how unable to access the internet via their ISP... then maybe they need to seek to change to a responsible ISP.

Allowing irresponsible ISP's to continue to allow their spammers acces to the internet IS THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.

As such... the resolve is easy... hold each ISP accountable for what comes out of their ISP site!

PROBLEM SOLVED or the ISP's Internet access cut.

Either way... SPAM will subside drastically.

FWIW

[Seaspray0]

I wish it was that easy

Yes, ISP's provide the link, but not everyone is an individual user. You have corporations to deal with. These corporations expect the ability to run an email server to handle the mail for their corporation. For instance, Microsoft.com has many email servers to handle the incomming and outgoing mail to their employees. Most companies that have internet access also have a mail server. You can't block port 25 because you would then block the email services of thousands of Widget.com companies who do not spam.

It seems that defensive measures against spam are not the solution. Spammers are nothing more than international terrorists and should be treated as such... with a bounty on their head, dead or alive.