"White Collar" Spam a Growing Nuisance
The new anti-spam bill passed by Congress does nothing to combat a growing breed of unsolicited e-mail from legitimate companies dubbed "white collar" spam. While legislation and criticism have focused on fraudulent and pornographic spam, major corporations are increasingly using spam for their own marketing purposes. Many of them claim they use "opt-in" marketing lists, but email addresses are so commonly bought, shared, or stolen that its often not clear whether people knowingly agreed to receive such email or not. In the meantime, not only has Congress has ignored this type of spamming, but this latest bill would invalidate stronger state laws, such as those in California, that try to protect individuals from all categories of spam.
Big Companies Add to Spam
The New York Times, October 28, 2003
