Putting the heat on spam
Spam opponents are gaining allies in government offices. Bills in the U.S. House and the California Senate promise tough measures to stem the flow of unwanted e-mail.
update A new proposal in the House of Representatives promises to slap the worst bulk e-mailers with prison terms and millions of dollars in fines.
May 23, 2003
The California State Senate approves a bill that would make it illegal to send unsolicited e-mail advertising and allows people to sue spammers for $500 per unwanted message.
May 22, 2003
Chairman Bill Gates writes a letter advocating a combination of law and self-regulation by the industry to stop unwanted e-mail.
May 21, 2003
Web surfers are urged to dump junk mail as Yahoo kicks off the first global antispam day, its effort to raise the profile of the worldwide spam problem.
May 22, 2003
Claiming they helped build a service that was supposed to be free, testers of Cloudmark's spam-blocking system are protesting the finished version, which costs $3.99 per month.
May 19, 2003
Perspectives A technology that makes e-mailers jump through hoops may help kill spam, but CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh says patent lawsuits could keep the technique caged.
May 19, 2003