Computer spam
...ng the Commission to take some sort of action. Sadly, as in any aspect of government, the division of power has slowed down the process, but rightly so many government officials would like to take their time and make the right decision about the best way to attack Spam. The problem is not as easy as getting rid of all Spam because there are good types of Spam. Just like if someone was to visit a car show and find a new concept car intriguing, they could give the company their phone number and address as to receive more information on the car as it became available. In this same fashion Internet users can visit some other sort of convention and instead of leaving their phone number they can leave their email address and future information can be sent there. The government needs to recognize that email and other similar forms of electronic information transfer have become a major part of personal contact information along with telephone numbers and the home address. Soon enough sending letters and things of that nature will be predominantly done electronically because of the convenience of not having to deal with the whole postal system. This vast amount of freedom for email users forces the government to increase involvement to ensure that the individual’s rights are protected, against things like unwanted Spam. In the past the government has never hesitated in extending its power to pass specific legislation in the best interest of the public and this situation should be no different. The government cannot only consider current problems and individual complaints when making a decision on how to handle Spam; future technology must be taken into account coupled with the overall direction in which the economy is headed. Its not as if the government is uninterested in helping the average email user with Spam, in fact in a letter to petitioners, “the Commission emphasized its belief that Spam is an enormous and increasing problem for consumers and business. To address various issues surrounding Spam… the Commission has announced that it will hold a three-day public forum on April 30-May 2, 2003.”(Federal Trade Commission) Although their hands are tied within the legislative process, the Federal Government is going out of its way to organize essentially a giant discussion group. This course of action is commonly used in engineering, similar to “brainstorming” all ideas are discussed no matter how ridiculous or unfeasible, with the intention of introducing new methods to reach a desired solution that may not have been previously thought of. In addition to this forum the FTC has established an email address, uce@ftc.gov, to which Spam emails can be forwarded to for later investigation. It is important for the FTC to gain the faith of the public in handling the Spam situation, “In its testimony, the Commission said it has a ‘long history of promoting competition and protecting consumes in once new marketing media. These past innovations have included door-to-door sales, television and print advertising, direct mail marketing, 900 number sales and telemarketing. The development of each of these media was marked by early struggles between legitimate merchants and fraud artists as each sought to capitalize on the efficiencies and potential profits of the new marketplace.’”(Federal Trade Commission) Unknowingly this faith in the FTC is actually a surrender of freedom, allowing complete government control of the situation. Some people may not see a problem with this, but the original intent of the government was to protect human rights and maintain order. If we so willingly surrender our rights as a United States citizen, the government receives power that it was never supposed to have. This causes a dilemma because when the government eventually passes a new law although it may aid in the fight against Spam, it might limit or diminish the freedom to surf the Internet that we presently enjoy. Many “quick fixes” to the problem of Spam have recently been introduced to the consumer market, but none of them can actually guarantee that the user will not receive these types of emails. These programs c...