FTC Wants To Set Up Spam Bounty System

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from the that-will-make-Lessig-happy dept

For years, Larry Lessig has pushed the idea of setting up a bounty for spammers. He wants there to be a monetary reward for anyone who can track down and turn in a spammer. He’s even staked his job on it. He’s said that if Congress passes a law that allows this, and it doesn’t work to cut down spam, he will resign his professorship at Stanford. Well, we may soon know whether or not he gets to keep his job. The FTC has a task force to deal with the CAN-SPAM law and to make additional rules around it. Among the rules they’re looking at is “a system of monetary rewards to encourage informants to report CAN-SPAM violators.” It’s unclear if this will hit all the qualifications for Lessig’s bet, but it could be interesting. It’s also worth noting that they’re looking into whether or not there should be a “Do Not Email” list, and (most importantly) will be reviewing the results of CAN-SPAM late next year to see if it’s actually helped at all.