DMA summarises world spam laws – and Wired reveals the idiots

The new summary is designed to assist US DMA members in complying with applicable laws when marketing abroad. It specifies each nation's opt-in and opt-out practices, and summarises laws that detail rules for direct and interactive marketers. It also explains European Union Directives that will affect marketing practices in 15 European nations beginning 1st November.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive is due to be implemented by all EU Member States by 31st October and will institute major change in marketing standards. In particular the Directive will establish an 'opt-in' approach to e-mail marketing, whereby recipients must consent to marketing before e-mails can be sent to them.

"Legitimate e-mail marketers care about the rules, and play by them, at home and abroad," said H. Robert Wientzen, president and CEO of the DMA. "By complying with laws governing cross-border e-mail marketing, we will ensure that this valuable new marketing channel remains viable."

The release comes less than a week after the DMA delayed publication of e-mail best practice guidelines that had been created by its subsidiary, the Association for Interactive Marketing (AIM).

Officially the DMA is still evaluating the document, but according to internetnews.com the reason for the delay relates to a difference in approach between the DMA and AIM over the definition of 'spam'.

Internetnews reports that while the AIM tends to take the generally accepted view that spam is unsolicited commercial e-mail, the DMA prefers a much narrower definition of 'fraudulently sent e-mail'.

The reality, however, is that spam looks set to continue as long as there are gullible people who respond to it - as highlighted by an excellent article in yesterday's Wired News.

Wired's investigation revealed that over the course of four weeks, 6,000 people responded to spam selling expensive penis-enlargement pills. Where there's muck, there's brass, as they say.