Hatch, Leahy team up with plan to fight spam
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The committee members passed —19-0, no less — a bill written by the odd couple of Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the panel's ranking Democrat.
"Rarely a minute passes without American consumers and their children being bombarded with e-mail messages promoting pornographic Web sites, illegally pirated software, bogus charities, pyramid schemes and other get-rich-quick … scams," Hatch said.
Leahy noted that he won't let his grandson use the computer without watching him for fear of pornographic spam. He said any e-mail address seems to attract it quickly. "The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) found spam arriving at its computer system just nine minutes after posting an e-mail address in an online chat room," he said.
Their bill would outlaw any unsolicited e-mail that uses deceptive "subject lines" or disguises its true sender. It also outlaws sending viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other types of hidden and damaging codes.
It also outlaws usurping other computer systems to send mass spam. Hatch noted, "By year's end, it is estimated that 50 percent of all e-mail traffic will be spam."
Offending spammers could be sentenced from one to five years in prison, depending on the violation and whether it is a repeat offense. Also, they may be ordered to forfeit any profits and computer equipment used in the crimes. Offenders could also be sued privately for damages.
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