Handbook of Information Security: Information Warfare, Social, Legal, and International Issues and Security Foundations, Volume 2

Spam and the Legal Counter Attacks

Charles Jaeger, Southern Oregon University

Introduction

Spam and “Junk Mail”

Costs of Spam

A Balanced Viewpoint

“Spam” and “Spam”

Why Do They Spam?

A Small Shadowy Group of Pros

The Money Trail

Spam and Crime

The Legal Counterattack

State and Local Legislation

The Federal CAN-SPAM Act

Industry Self-Regulation

Enforcement and Prosecution

Issues with CAN-SPAM and State Legislation

Defining Spam

Restrictive Definitions

Permissive Definitions

Effect of the Legislative Counterattack

The Government Perspective

The Spammer Perspective

The Antispammer Perspective

The Business Perspective

The States' Perspective

The Global Perspective

The Movement Offshore

European Legislation

Growing International Action

Conclusion

Glossary

Cross References

References

Cited Cases

Further Reading

Trespass to Chattels Claims

Trademark Infringement and Dilution Claims

Breach of Contract Claims by ISPs

Jurisdictional Claims and “Purposeful Availment” of the Benefits of the Forum State

INTRODUCTION

Spam and “Junk Mail”

Businesses, charitable organizations, politicians, special interest groups, and many others send millions of unsolicited “junk mail” pieces every month to your postal mailbox—cards, letters, leaflets, or almost anything they want. It's legal. Companies make money with it. You may have done it yourself.

Internet e-mail has become the new frontier of junk mail, with offers of every kind—sometimes hundreds per day—going to almost every e-mail address in the world. ...