INTERNET FTC holds off creating anti-spam registry

The agency instead called for systems to verify the origin of e-mail messages.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- An e-mail version of the do-not-call registry could not be enforced at this point, or worse, could further burden consumers, the Federal Trade Commission said.
While acknowledging the importance of stemming the flow of spam e-mail, FTC Chairman Timothy Muris said at a news conference Tuesday that a registry would be ineffective unless the problem of the anonymity of such e-mail was addressed.
He said the agency's study concluded that without any effective system to identify senders of spam e-mail, the senders would remain at large, and the registry would only help them obtain and verify e-mail addresses.
"Most spammers who violate a host of laws would ignore any requirement not to spam addresses in do-not-e-mail databases," Muris said. "But even worse, they would use the registry as a source of valid and spammable addresses."
Muris added that rather than implementing the registry now, his agency would encourage Internet service providers to develop an authentication system that identifies the origin of e-mail.
Such systems have been created by major Internet service providers but have not been widely tested. To facilitate the systems' development and to set standards, Muris announced that the FTC would hold a summit in the fall to discuss authentication issues.