CAN-SPAM Remains a Sideshow

by on March 18, 2008 · 4 comments

Don’t take your eye off the ball, people. The FTC’s assessment of $2.9 million against ValueClick does not mean that CAN-SPAM is working. The Inbox at Privacilla.org has about 25,000 spam messages in it – because Rackspace’s hosted email product has such ineffectual anti-spam technology. Oh, and because CAN-SPAM, which was supposed to “can” spam – meaning “end it” – didn’t.

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About Jim Harper

Jim Harper is the Director of Information Policy Studies at The Cato Institute, the Editor of Web-based privacy think-tank Privacilla.org, and the Webmaster of WashingtonWatch.com. A Poli Sci major at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Jim served as Editor-in-Chief of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly in his final year at Hastings College of the Law. Prior to becoming a policy analyst and advocate, Jim served as counsel to committees in both the U.S. House and Senate. He avoids genuine life experience by watching lots and lots of reality TV.

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  • http://mcgath.blogspot.com Gary McGath

    “CAN-SPAM” has so many holes in it that it’s known as the “You Can Spam” act.

    Rackspace is notorious for failing to terminate websites that are used for spamming.

  • http://mcgath.blogspot.com Gary McGath

    “CAN-SPAM” has so many holes in it that it’s known as the “You Can Spam” act.

    Rackspace is notorious for failing to terminate websites that are used for spamming.

  • http://linuxworld.com/community/ Don Marti

    But if a spammer actually complies with “CAN-SPAM” the mail ends up with enough spammy-looking content that a filter can take care of it. No CAN-SPAM compliant mail makes it through my filters.

  • http://linuxworld.com/community/ Don Marti

    But if a spammer actually complies with “CAN-SPAM” the mail ends up with enough spammy-looking content that a filter can take care of it. No CAN-SPAM compliant mail makes it through my filters.

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