This is from the March 30, 2004 program.

This is a brilliant little piece by Rob Courddry that provides first hand commentary straight from one of the world's large-scale spammers.

Daily Show - Email Trouble (Small - 10 MB)

The Daily Show (The best news on television.)

Jeff Ubois and Sylvia Paull put together a CyberSalon On Spam June 15, 2003 at Berkeley's Hillside Club. Craig and Cindy's presentations and the discussion that follows is of particular interest.

Lou Katz On Spam (Small - 27 MB)

Craig Newmark On Spam (Small - 16 MB)

The EFF's Cindy Cohn On Spam (Small - 16 MB)

Follow up w/Craig and Cindy (Small - 7 MB)

Spam Filter Vendor Talks:

IronPort On Spam (Small - 24 MB)

Enrique Salem, CEO of Brightmail, On Spam (Small - 20 MB)

Pavri Diwariji from MailFrontier, On Spam (Small - 9 MB)

Jordan Ritter of Cloudmark, On Spam (Small - 10 MB)

Doug McLean of Postini, On Spam (Small - 12 MB)

Lou Katz (below)



Craig Newmark (below)



Cindy Cohn, EFF (below)



Craig Newmark, Cindy Cohn (below)

Rick Boucher (D-VA) and his collegues have introduced an anti-spam bill. (I know, I know, Yet Another Anti-Spam Bill...)

Here's a press release and actual text of the bill for you to chew on.

The Anti-SPAM Act, of which Congressman Boucher is an original co-author, would enable consumers to opt-out of all commercial e-mail from any company. Companies who send commercial e-mails would be required to clearly identify the e-mail as a business solicitation or advertisement and to provide the recipient with a return e-mail address or website where he or she can opt-out from receiving the company’s e-mail. Companies would be required to comply with a consumer’s request to opt-out from the unsolicited commercial e-mail within 10 days.

The measure would also protect consumers against fraudulent or sexually-explicit e-mail. If enacted, the bill would make it a criminal offense to send e-mails which incorrectly state the origin of the e-mail. Companies who send e-mails which contain sexually-explicit material would also be required to clearly indicate the content of the e-mail, and to allow consumers to opt-out from receiving it.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs), state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission will be given the authority to enforce the Anti-Spam Act. Any person or company found to be in violation of the Act could face up to 2 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

There is no url for this press release. Rick Boucher's Folks sent it me in an email. Sorry to be so late posting it. I'm way backed up (just wait till you see the other old news I'm going to be posting today :-)

Congressman Rick Boucher

2187 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515

For Immediate Release
Contact: Amanda Potter, (202) 225-3861

June 18, 2003

BOUCHER CO-AUTHORS NEW APPROACH TO

ELIMINATING SPAM

(Washington, D.C.) –

U.S. Representative Rick Boucher today joined with Representatives Wilson, Green, Dingell and Markey in introducing the bipartisan Anti-SPAM Act of 2003. "Our SPAM legislation protects consumers and provides law enforcement with the necessary tools to stop unsolicited commercial e-mail. SPAM is no longer just an annoyance to consumers. Today, it is an epidemic which costs Internet Service Providers millions of dollars and slows down consumers e-mail connections," Boucher said.

The Anti-SPAM Act, of which Congressman Boucher is an original co-author, would enable consumers to opt-out of all commercial e-mail from any company. Companies who send commercial e-mails would be required to clearly identify the e-mail as a business solicitation or advertisement and to provide the recipient with a return e-mail address or website where he or she can opt-out from receiving the company’s e-mail. Companies would be required to comply with a consumer’s request to opt-out from the unsolicited commercial e-mail within 10 days.

The measure would also protect consumers against fraudulent or sexually-explicit e-mail. If enacted, the bill would make it a criminal offense to send e-mails which incorrectly state the origin of the e-mail. Companies who send e-mails which contain sexually-explicit material would also be required to clearly indicate the content of the e-mail, and to allow consumers to opt-out from receiving it.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs), state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission will be given the authority to enforce the Anti-Spam Act. Any person or company found to be in violation of the Act could face up to 2 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

-more-

Boucher noted that the Anti-SPAM Act goes much further than other proposals which are under consideration by the U.S. Congress. "The Anti-SPAM Act provides consumers, ISPs, and law enforcement with the necessary weapons to fight vigorously the onslaught of millions of unsolicited commercial messages. It contains broad enforcement powers for federal and state authorities, tight restrictions on e-mail marketers, and includes an anti-pornography provision," he said.

-###-

Amanda Potter
Press Secretary
Office of Congressman Rick Boucher
(202) 225-3861

There's a cool panel I'll be going to this Sunday in Berkeley at the Hillside Club.

I don't mean to make the event sound confrontational in my headline. The goal of this panel is to get everybody in one room so we can hear all of the different viewpoints on these issues. Hopefully we'll be willing to listen to one another. It should be pretty interesting.

Members of the press: this would be a good chance for you to spend an hour or so of your time and learn everything you ever wanted to know about spam tech and collect a round of business cards from the participating parties for quotes in the future when this stuff hits the mainstream media over the next few months.

CAN WE STOP SPAM?
A Panel of Spammers, Anti-Spammers, and the Spam-Inflicted Duke It Out

Here's the official description:

We'll hear all sides - including your own - at a revolving panel, which
includes antispam developers Brightmail, Postini, Mail Frontier,
Cloudmark, and ActiveState (from Canada); Internet entrepreneur Gary
Kremen, founder of Match.com and sex.com, who argues that spam is
ineradicable; Paul Goldman, CEO of Markado, an "intelligent" etailer;
EFF Chair Brad Templeton; Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist; and PC
World's Harry McCracken, whose team has just completed an exhaustive
round-up of anti-spam legislation.

What: Sylvia's and Jeff's CyberSalon
When: SUNDAY, June 15, 2003
Time: 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Where: Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Berkeley

Directions are at the bottom of the full invite.

See you there.

Sylvia's and Jeff's CyberSalon
SUNDAY, June 15, 2003
5:30-8:00 p.m.
Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St.*
Berkeley

CAN WE STOP SPAM?
A Panel of Spammers, Anti-Spammers, and the Spam-Inflicted Duke It Out

Come join an exhilarating panel discussion covering all aspects of a
growing Internet irritant: spam. Most people treat it like a weed, while
some consider it their bread and butter. Others think a cure is
impossible or potentially - like Agent Orange -- worse than the problem.

We'll hear all sides - including your own - at a revolving panel, which
includes antispam developers Brightmail, Postini, Mail Frontier,
Cloudmark, and ActiveState (from Canada); Internet entrepreneur Gary
Kremen, founder of Match.com and sex.com, who argues that spam is
ineradicable; Paul Goldman, CEO of Markado, an "intelligent" etailer;
EFF Chair Brad Templeton; Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist; and PC
World's Harry McCracken, whose team has just completed an exhaustive
round-up of anti-spam legislation.

Jeff Ubois, my partner in this event and a member of the Hillside Club -
which he hopes will become a forum for ideas about technology and
society -- will archive the discussion online and also tally votes at
the end when we see which solution you all prefer.

The Cybersalon is open to all, including friends and family. We start at
5:30 with food and drinks (we ask for a $15 donation), and because it's
also Father's Day, anyone who brings a father gets dad in for half
price. The panel discussion starts around 6:15. RSVP to
whoisylvia@aol.com by June 13.

Sylvia (Paull)
Founder, Gracenet, Cybersalons, Nerd Walks

*Directions:

From San Francisco, take Bay Bridge, and merge onto I-80 East.
Exit University Ave. and bear RIGHT UNDER the freeway toward 4th St.
Continue STRAIGHT on frontage road for half a mile
RIGHT onto Cedar
STRAIGHT on Cedar for a couple of miles, past Shattuck and Spruce.

From North Bay, take Richmond Bridge to I-80 and Berkeley.
Exit Gilman St., go straight up past San Pablo and bear LEFT onto Cedar
at fork in road
Straight on Cedar for a couple of miles, past Shattuck and Spruce.

Parking: yes.

Public transport: Get off at Downtown Berkeley BART - you can get a bus,
cab, or hitch/walk/bicycle one mile along Shattuck, then make a right
onto Cedar.