Stopping Spam
What can we do about spam - that endless stream of unrequested email pouring into our computer systems, slowly choking off all of the benefits of Internet communication?
Spam is now illegal in Australia. The Spam Act 2003 came into effect on 10 April 2004 and it prohibits 'unsolicited commercial electronic messages'. The Spam Act is enforced by the Australian Communications Authority (ACA). Visit www.spam.aca.gov.au for information about compliance with spam laws, spam reduction, internet security tips, and how to report or complain about spam.
Below are a few more links to sites and papers that may be helpful:
For further discussion, please contact ISOC-AU director Jeremy Malcolm (Jeremy@Malcolm.id.au)
- ISOC-AU director Jeremy Malcom has written Recent Developments in Australian Spam Law, an overview of the current state of legislation and case law in Australia concerning spam. The paper is also available in PDF format (size 476 Kb).
- Reflections on the 25th Anniversary of Spam by Brad Templeton. This includes an excellent survey on progress in anti-spam solutions.
- The Coalition Against Unsolicited Bulk Email (CAUBE) provides a useful guide to avoiding spam.
- CAUBE also offers a good discussion of the issues and costs to all Internet users of unsolicited bulk email.
- WAIA, the Western Australian Internet Association, has produced a Spam Code of Conduct to guide members of WAIA and WAIX.
- ISOC-AU submitted a paper on SPAM to NOIE in May 2002.
- NOIE produced a draft document on spam - SpamDraft19June.pdf - June 2002 (214 KB in size).