Recent research by filtering companies MessageLabs and SpamTrap shows that the volume of spam has increased to the point where there is more spam than any other form of e-mail.
In a joint statement read before the House of Representative's Energy and Commerce Committee, the FTC said:
"The problems caused by unsolicited commercial e-mail ("spam") go well beyond the annoyance spam causes to the public. These problems include the fraudulent and deceptive content of most spam messages, the sheer volume of spam being sent across the internet, and the security issues raised because spam can be used to disrupt service or as a vehicle for sending viruses."
The FTC has recommended the creation of a Federal/State Spam Task Force to coordinate with local enforcement agencies.
It also recommends legislative measures to aid the fight against spam that include a proposal for spam from out with the US. It wants a law to provide for cooperation and information exchange with other national enforcement agencies.
Another proposal is that investigations into a suspected spammer be kept secret for a "limited period of time", so that important documents are not destroyed or hidden by the suspect upon learning of an investigation.
The FTC also recommends the amendment of the US Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), so that the FTC can receive notification of complaints about spam sent to ISPs.
The broad scope of the proposed legislation has come in for criticism from civil liberties groups. The director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Marc Rotenberg, said in a prepared statement delivered to the House Committee yesterday:
"certain provisions of the draft International Consumer Protection Enforcement Act, put forward by the FTC, should be revised to safeguard privacy, promote government accountability, and enable the development of reporting standards that will allow this Committee and the public to assess how well the FTC is doing its job and whether further steps may eventually be necessary. Without these changes, the legislation opens the door to abuse in that it creates new enforcement authority without corresponding safeguards."
The text of the Commissioners statement is available here