Technology solutions can only go so far. It's not like the Internet is broken and these messages go out automatically. Human beings send them, and despite the atrocious spelling most of them use, often they're very canny people.
If there were a good, user-level solution out there, we wouldn't be so worried about passing anti-spam legislation. ISPs can filter and block hosts who send almost nothing but spam, but at the user level there isn't much you can do that also wouldn't affect legitimate e-mail.
We're generally supportive of efforts to make life easier on legitimate marketers. But I don't know if it's a good precedent to set for Internet service providers to charge per message for guaranteed delivery. That doesn't seem like the best way to handle spam.
The enforcement activities by ISPs have been the most successful part of combating spam. You have to look long and hard to find one that doesn't take swift action against spam in their network.
We are a bit worried that this bill will pre-empt some tough anti-spam laws in states like California, Washington and Virginia.
