List won't stop spam, FTC says

WASHINGTON — A proposed "do not e-mail" registry won't reduce the spam that is jamming in boxes and could make the problem even worse, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday.

The FTC, in a report to Congress, said a list of off-limits addresses "will, at best, have no impact on spam and, at worst, result in more spam." It warned that the spammers would use the list as a way to harvest more addresses and deluge Internet users with yet more unwanted commercial e-mail.

"I wouldn't put my e-mail address on such a list," outgoing FTC Chairman Timothy Muris told reporters at a briefing.

The FTC urged Internet service providers to develop ways to filter out spam and to overcome the technical tricks that spammers use to hide their true identity. It also announced a "summit" for next fall on ways to authenticate the senders of e-mails.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who led the push for the CAN-SPAM law signed last year that ordered the FTC to consider a registry, pledged congressional action to press for tougher action.

"We are very disappointed that the FTC is refusing to move forward," Schumer said in a statement released by his office.

"The registry is not the perfect solution, but it is the best solution we have to the growing problem of spam, and we will pursue congressional alternatives in light of the FTC's adamancy. The FTC should remember that they also resisted the 'do not call' registry, but when they finally implemented it it was an overwhelming success."

In fact, the agency said the success of the "do not call" list in warding off calls from telemarketers would create unrealistic hopes that spam, too, would disappear or greatly diminish immediately.

The FTC said that because of the technology limits, the "do not e-mail" list "would fail to meet these expectations." It pointed out that telemarketing firms are much easier to trace and are generally law-abiding businesses that care about their public image, whereas Internet spammers operate in the shadows, sometimes with fraudulent intent.

EarthLink, the Atlanta-based Internet service provider, agreed with the agency's findings.

"There would be problems in creating a 'do not e-mail' list, and the efforts are better spent on applying technical solutions to the problems," said Dave Baker, vice president for law and public policy.

He added that EarthLink has already implemented anti-spam systems, including a blocker aimed at eliminating nearly all unwanted e-mail from customers' in boxes.

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, called the FTC plan to push for a system to identify e-mail sources "encouraging," but said the agency needed more resources to trade down and prosecute violators of the anti-spam law.

"Consumers need a meaningful way to say no to advertising on their computers, and the burden should be on e-mail marketers to get permission, not on consumers to filter mountains of junk," said Consumer Union president Jim Guest.