A House Commerce subcommittee today approved by voice vote the Consumer Antislamming Act, containing controversial provisions aimed at protecting Net users from junk email that antispammers say actually legitimize spam. [CNET]

Try to imagine your e-mail in-box accumulating 300 to 600 messages - not while you are away on vacation, but every day. [CNN]

by Jeff Johnson [CPSR]

On the beat with the Internet spam cops

The war on unsolicited email suffered a setback this week as a spam-blocking site was bounced off the Web. [News.com]

In a pioneering move that may herald the dawn of the cyber-campaign, hundreds of thousands of Californians will soon begin hearing from political candidates via e-mail.

Wanted: One spammer. Reward offered. A San Diego software engineer whose had it with people using his domain name "live.net" to send out spam is offering a $100 reward to anyone who can deliver the offending parties--or at least their names--to him. [...

Stan Smith of Salem, Oregon, had never heard of junk email, let alone "spam" or any laws banning it. He just wanted to spread the word about Tahitian noni juice, which he says is pretty much a miracle cure for a wide variety of ailments. [CNET]

Spammers claim legitimacy with disclaimers that imply their mass emailings comply with the Consumer Antislamming Act. [CNET]

Do we need anti-spam laws? Some Net veterans think the unthinkable. [Salon 21st]