Inspired by the success of the recently launched Do-Not-Call Registry, which tackles the problem of telemarketing, Congress had been hoping that a similar registry would have an effect on the massive volume of unsolicited commercial e-mail flooding consumers' in-boxes.
It therefore included a provision in the recent CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) requiring the FTC to look into the practicalities and problems relating to such a registry.
The FTC has now completed its report, but its findings suggest that any Do-Not-E-mail registry will have to wait until technology improves.
The problem is that unlike telemarketers, which tend to be legitimate and identifiable businesses, spammers by their very nature use deceptive practices to hide their identities and their e-mail addresses.
This means that anti-spam filters find it difficult to identify spam, and that law enforcement officers find it very difficult to identify and catch spammers.
The danger therefore is that users signing up to the registry would in fact receive more spam because spammers would feel free to use such a registry as a directory of valid e-mail addresses.
As FTC Chairman Timothy Muris put it, "Consumers will be spammed if we do a registry and spammed if we don't."
The solution, says the FTC, is to focus on creating a robust e-mail authentication system to prevent spammers from hiding their tracks and evading law enforcement or anti-spam filters. Leading ISPs, including AOL and Microsoft, are already working together to try to create such a system.
The report has been roundly welcomed by industry. Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president for government affairs with the Direct Marketing Association said: "Today's FTC announcement reflects the widely held belief that a do-not-e-mail list would not be a do-not-spam list".
"It is imperative that there will be an authentication system in place so that consumers and regulators can determine who sent the e-mail and take appropriate action," he added.
Anti-spam software firm Brightmail also endorsed the FTC's opinion. "Mail messages need to contain more information than they do today, so that filtering technology can more effectively identify and block spam," said CEO Enrique Salem. "We commend the FTC for recognising that authentication is an important next step in securing the e-mail infrastructure."
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