Proposed Legislation on Data Accountability
Dec 21 2009, 10:58 AM
In a move that is aimed at offering more transparency, the US House of Representatives
has approved a data accountability bill called the Data Accountability and
Trust Act, which could become a law if passed by the Senate.
A few days ago, the House of Representatives passed a legislation that could
have far reaching implications for those who deal in data or data brokers.
Pending approval by the US Senate, the Data Accountability and Trust Act proposes
two important requirements:
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Anti-Spam Movement Gets Traction Worldwide
Dec 18 2009, 11:04 AM
In a demonstration of cross-border cooperation on the anti-spam front, regulators
in the US, New Zealand and Australia come together to penalize the 'world’s
biggest spammer'.
US authorities recently fined Lance Atkinson, considered by many to be the
world’s biggest spammer, $16 million for being the brains behind the
largest spam operation to date. It is believed that Atkinson and his associates
were capable of sending over 10 billion emails a day to Internet users across
the world. These emails invariably linked to websites that would sell prescription
drugs and other fraudulent weight-loss and ‘enhancement’ pills.
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A Spam ‘Godfather’ Falls
Dec 14 2009, 01:33 PM
Anti-spam efforts have borne fruit with the ‘Godfather’ of spam being sentenced to over 4 years in jail.
It is said that when a giant falls, we all feel the ground shake; and this
is exactly what happened when Alan Ralsky, possibly amongst the biggest spammers
ever, was indicted for mail fraud. He was sentenced to over 4 years in prison
along with his accomplices for persistently sending unsolicited junk email
over a sustained period of time.
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Spammer from New Zealand Hit with Huge Fine
Dec 10 2009, 01:37 PM
Leader of one of the largest spamming operations in the history of the Internet
was ordered to pay US$15.5 million.
Spam, as we all know, is one of the most insidious evils of the Internet age.
It amuses and profits only the senders. Which is why when people like Lance
Atkinson get fined, spam receivers like you and me can rejoice. Lance Atkinson,
a New Zealander now residing in Australia, was the ring leader of a massive
spamming operation. Atkinson, along with his brother Shane and a Christchurch
accomplice, Ronald Smits, sent 2 million spam emails in a span of three months,
last year.
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Engagement Is the New Buzzword at AOL
Dec 07 2009, 01:42 PM
To get on AOL’s enhanced whitelist (EWL), companies will need to have lower complaint levels
and higher customer engagement.
In a move that signals the evolution of spam handling techniques by ISPs,
AOL recently announced the creation of a new list that includes low spam complaint
mailers where senders get their messages delivered with links and design unaltered.
Known as the enhanced whitelist or EWL, this list will consider not only spam
complaint levels, but also user engagement levels.
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