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Recent cases brought against two of the world's most prolific spammers illustrate that the CAN-SPAM Act is helping to bring some pain to the spam world, despite continued criticisms that the 2003 law doesn't go far enough.
Earlier this month, the FBI dropped in at the home of Alan Ralsky, one of the world's top spammers, according to Spamhaus.org. Authorities seized hardware and records during the raid, but no charges had been filed by press time.
The FBI raid followed another major ruling against spam in Boston. Citing deceptive practices that violated the CAN-SPAM Act, a Suffolk County Superior Court judge ordered Leo Kuvayev, another prominent member of the Spamhaus.org spammer registry, to shut down dozens of Web sites and pay a $37 million fine.
Although these two cases might not represent an immediate dent in global spam traffic, they underscore legislation's important place in the overall strategy of the war against spam.
Some argue that the CAN-SPAM Act is too lenient on unsolicited email. Nevertheless, it is an important tool that allows the U.S. government to increase the pressure on spammers and help deter would-be newcomers from seeing spam as a viable method of business.
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