Walking the Line Between E-Mail and Spam - Getting people to say yes to marketing e-mails, and then getting them the messages that are most likely to make them buy, is a thriving industry of its own. [E-Commerce Times] Can Spam Ever Be Stopped? - Activists decry a loophole in proposed U.S. anti-spam laws that would allow each spammer to send one unsolicited e-mail before an ISP could take action against the spammer. [E-Commerce Times] Spam Report: U.S. Regulators Ignore Most Junk E-Mail - To date, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has only gone after spam in cases in which deceptive advertising was being prosecuted. Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) itself, regardless of its contents, has not been a target. [E-Commerce News] BBC News: EU laws target junk mail spam - Consumers across Europe who have been plagued by junk e-mails and phone messages are being told that new laws are on the way to control them. U.S. representatives mount attack on spam - A bill designed to give consumers and ISPs greater control over a flood of unwanted e-mail, commonly known as spam, was introduced Wednesday by the same U.S. representatives who sponsored the legislation in the last Congress. [CNN] A Third of Work E-Mail Wastes Time - A new study finds at least 34 percent of e-mail messages at work contain irrelevant information. [ABCNEWS.com] E-mails laden with real news — and rumors - The stock market was plummeting Monday. Everything was crazy. And as if that weren't enough, Salomon Smith Barney in Alexandria, Va., was inundated with strange phone calls. [USA Today] Data protection: "Junk" e-mail costs internet users 10 billion a year worldwide - Internet subscribers world-wide are unwittingly paying an estimated €10 billion a year in connection costs just to receive "junk" e-mails, according to a study undertaken for the European Commission. Official: Spam costs E10 billion - Spam costs Net users a whopping E10 billion ($9.33 billion) a year, according to the European Commission. [The Register] Spammer wrecks UUNet email service - UUNet customers have been left stranded without access to their email for the last 36 hours after the outfit took a "very big hit" from spammers earlier this week. [The Register] Evil spammers jailed for two years - Two Los Angeles men are to go to jail for their part in a bulk email scam which duped 12,000 people and severely impacted the operations of several large US ISPs. [The Register] Europe bottles spam ban - A European committee has blocked plans to outlaw unsolicited commercial email dealing a major blow to anti-spam supporters. [The Register] Europe warms to spam ban - Lobbyists for the European Internet industry believe their campaign for a ban on spam is gaining momentum. [The Register] Euro spam vote in limbo - The European parliament has bungled its latest attempt to outlaw spam. [The Register] Spammers face felony charges - Californians Michael Persaud, 24, of San Diego and Frank Kriticos, 25, of Santee will answer felony criminal charges of spamming and so earn the distinction of being the first people so charged in that state, according to a story in the local Union Tribune newspaper. [The Register] MSN opts for Brightmail anti-spam defence - MSN has signed up with Brightmail to stop its email users getting spammed. The ISP will offer its five million email users in the US the option of Brightmail's Anti-Spam Solution. [The Register] The Register: ORBS' death - Alan Brown makes a short response to the news that ORBS is shutting down. Anti-spam group makes up with pollster - A controversial anti-spam group agrees to remove a polling and market research firm from its database of suspected junk e-mailers. [C|Net] eBay sellers say new anti-spam system is backfiring - The auction giant's new system that was designed to limit spam is forcing some sellers to weed through even more junk mail to find legitimate messages from bidders. [c|net] Bill aims to block wireless junk email - In our wireless world, can solicitors find you anywhere within cell range if you have a data-ready wireless phone turned on? [CNET.com] Spam filters may feed Web marketing - Some popular free Web services are playing both sides of the fence when it comes to protecting consumers from pesky marketers, offering to block junk e-mail while they help advertisers push promotions into customers' in-boxes. [CNET.com] Hotmail spam filters block outgoing e-mail - Ben Johnson has been sending e-mail for months from his Hotmail account, but he just discovered that some of them were diverted to the trash before arriving at their destination. [CNET.com] Spammer Gets Spammed - [Slashdot] UK marketeers to challenge EU email ban - The British marketing industry has begun the fight back against European Union proposals to ban all unsolicited emails. [Guardian Unlimited]