Federal Law Aims to Fry Spam

We all get the annoying spam e-mails that clutter up your inbox and offer deals we never signed up for. And there are tons of them. A local internet provider filtered 26 million pieces of spam in 1 1/2 days. The federal, CAN-SPAM law that took effect January 1, 2004 aims to keep spam companies who use illegal methods to spread spam quickly from doing so. Meaning you should be receiving less junk mail, since the law makes fraudulent e-mail a crime. "And it carries some pretty stiff penalties, up to 5 years in prison, if it`s egregious and a lot in the monetary, $100 per e-mail," said Elizabeth Bowles, president, Aristotle Internet Services. Bowles says the law could still be tougher. And it will still be a while before you notice the decreased amount of spam. The government has to figure out how to enforce the law. "FTC still needs to figure out how they`re going to find spammers and how to keep this from happening," says Matt DeCample, Arkansas Attorney General`s office. The new law also clears the way for a "Do Not Spam" registry, like the Do NOt Call List for telemarketers. But it could take a while before that happens as well.