SPAM!!!!!
There is no global consensus on a
definition of spam as reported in the report of the Working Group on Internet
Governance 2005.Various definitions of spam have surfaced over the years. The
best known short definitions are Unsolicited Bulk E-mail (UBE) and Unsolicited
Commercial E-mail(UCE), but also Unsolicited Commercial Bulk E-mail and Unsolicited
Electronic Mail have been used, this is stated by Sorkin in 2000.Spam is the use
of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages, especially
advertising, indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is
applied to similar abuses in other media.
The problem of spam can be viewed
from different angles. First, spam poses an economic an economic problem,
shifting the burden of the cost of the advertisement that are transporting the
advertisement. From another point, spam is also a human rights lesson, with
conflicting interests regarding freedom of speech and the right to privacy. Spam
is also a fundamental rights problem. From the viewpoint of individuals, spam
can be deemed an invasion of privacy. From the viewpoint of a spammer, quite
often freedom of speech is involved.
In the European countries, they have
E-privacy Directive, it is an EU directive data protection and privacy in the
digital age. It presents a continuation of earlier efforts, most directly the
Data Protection Directive. It deals with the regulation of a number of
important issues such as confidentiality of information, treatment of traffic
data ,spam and cookies.
However Malaysia, at present does not have a specific anti-spam
law, it may fall within the purview of the Communications and Multimedia Acts
1998(CMA). The CMA makes in an offence for any person to initiate communications
with the intent to annoy , abuse, threaten or harass any person at any number
or electronic address. However, the fact that spammer must demonstrate intent
is difficult to prove and may lessen the CMA’s effectiveness. There are loopholes
in CMA when there is no provision that allow a person to opt in or out of
receiving unsolicited messengers, and no civil sanctions are provided for
unlawful conduct. These makes it seems to be toothless.
Malaysia is taking its current
initiatives by outlining to safeguard the public against spam in its recent
Public Consultation Report on Regulating Unsolicited Commercial Messengers. There are #
steps being reported out :
1. The commission is
considering on setting up a ‘spam portal’ for end users to increase
awareness. The effort is between the
MCMC and service providers to educated users on how they can protect themselves
against spam.
2. The MCMC will develop
benchmarks to ensure that the terms and conditions of the contact provides
consumers with an avenue to report incidents of spam and enable service
providers to take actions against spammers without fear of litigation.
3. The service providers
will be required to honour their obligations under the voluntary codes of
conduct specified in the CMA.
Somehow it is reliable under the Telecommunications Law and the Internet
Access Service Provider (IASP) Sub-Code to promote self-regulation of spam. The
prohibition of fraudulent and improper use of the telecommunications network
facilities and network services are being stated in Part 10, Chapter 2 of the
Telecommunications Law prohibits the fraudulent and improper use of the
telecommunications network facilities and network services. Part II, Article 5
of the IASP Sub-Code requires service providers to implement anti-spam measures
for an example requiring service providers to articulate a specific definition
of spam and include anti-spam principles as contractual conditions in
agreements with customers who have a tendency to produce spam, the breach of
which would result in a suspension or termination of services.
