Solutions to Spam: International Perspectives

Remarks by Susan Grant, Vice President for Public Policy, National Consumers League

Federal Trade Commission Workshop on Spam. April 2, 2003. Washington, D.C.

I am pleased to be here today representing the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, a coalition of consumer organizations in the United States and European Union countries. Unsolicited commercial emails are flooding inboxes on both sides of the Atlantic, threatening the Internet as a viable means of communications and commerce.

It's not just a matter of fraudulent or offensive content -- spam is a violation of our fundamental privacy rights. And it's not just a transatlantic problem -- spam is a global problem that requires a global approach. The TACD believes that the cornerstone of such an approach should be the basic principle that commercial emails should not be sent without the prior affirmative consent of the recipients.

If we're going to get serious about spam -- and I think that our audience has made clear over the past few days that we need to get serious -- we must promote a consistent approach that includes legislation, best practices, technology, and public education. This will facilitate cross-border enforcement and help us achieve our ultimate goal -- an Internet environment in which spam simply is not tolerated.