Schumer: Consumers Favor No-Spam Registry

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a sponsor of anti-spam legislation, says a new independent survey shows that 75% of consumers favor a federal no-spam registry akin to the new federal do-not-call list for telemarketers.

The survey of 1,188 consumers in July was conducted jointly by anti-spam-technology provider ePrivacy Group and think tank Ponemon Institute. It found that consumers were nearly equally bothered by unsolicited E-mail as they are by telemarketing calls. A third said they spend 30 minutes to an hour each day dealing with spam, while 36% said they spend 10 to 30 minutes each day dealing with the unsolicited E-mail.

In addition, the survey, found that 79% want spam banned or limited by law, and 59% want spammers punished. "This survey bolsters Sen. Schumer's argument that consumers are angered by unsolicited E-mail that clutters their in-boxes," a spokesman for Schumer said Thursday, one day after the senator presented the findings at a news conference in Washington.

Schumer's proposal for a national do-not-spam list is one of a number anti-spam bills that's been introduced in Congress. The Senate is expected to consider spam legislation before it recesses in August

The Information Technology Association of America says it opposes Schumer's no-spam registry proposal. "The reality is spam E-mailers are often located offshore, beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement," ITAA president Harris Miller said in a statement. "Inside the U.S., the nearly instantaneous nature of the Internet itself makes spam easy to do but hard to trace. Moreover, a 'do-not-spam' registry could fall into the hands of spammers, becoming a ready source of active E-mail addresses."