ADVISORY/Congress Discusses Anti-Spam Legislation

Business Wire, Feb 23, 2000

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

ADVISORY...

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2000

TOPIC: As the Internet becomes increasingly clogged with unsolicited e-mails, Congress is considering laws to control the spread of spam, the A.P. recently reported. The majority of spam involves get-rich schemes, investment ploys and invitations to view pornography. Many e-commerce owners see spam as a serious threat to their business. Also, spam reportedly pushes up Internet access fees because Internet providers have to add hardware and buy broader telephone bandwidth to accommodate the extra e-mails. The House Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee is expected next month to prepare new laws that would allow Internet providers to ban spam from their sites. However, some Internet advertisers say the federal crackdown on spam is premature, claiming that unsolicited mass e-mailing of legitimate advertisements is a potent marketing tool for the mass-marketing industry.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Ian Oxman is president of ChooseYourMail.com, a leading "opt-in" anti-spam e-mail marketing company and is founder of the Spam Recycling Center, a consumer assistance Web site devoted to helping consumers fight spam. He works directly with federal and state government officials to facilitate responsible anti-spam legislation. 312/456-3351 Ian.Oxman@chooseyourmail.com anthony.phipps@chooseyourmail.com

Alan Schwartz is author of "Stopping Spam" and an expert in strategies to combat unwanted or offensive e-mail. 707/829-0515, ext. 230 lisam@oreilly.com

Sunil Paul, chairman and founder of Brightmail, Inc., is an expert on spam legislation and email security. 415/365-6190 wadooah_wali@ipri.com

Jason Catlett is president of Junkbusters, a leading consumer resource on the control of telemarketing calls, unwanted mail, spam and commercial invasion of privacy. 908/753-7861 catlett@junkbusters.com

Alan Abdullahi, president of Lansoft, is an expert in e-mail technology and e-mail security issues. 614/540-6000, ext. 223 alan@lansoft.com shelleyt@lansoft.com

ExpertSource cannot guarantee the immediate availability of these experts or their familiarity with this specific issue.

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