Australia law aims to cut spam

CNN.com - Australia law aims to cut spam - Sep. 18, 2003: "CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- People sending unsolicited e-mail advertisements and messages known as spam could be fined more than a million Australian dollars (US$660,000) under tough new laws proposed by the Australian government.

Introduced to the Australian Parliament by federal Communications Minister Richard Alston, the Spam Bill 2003 would fine spammers up to A$1.1 million (US$726,000) a day for sending illegal messages.

'Spam is a menace to home and business e-mail users and is a major scourge to productivity,' Alston said in a statement Thursday. 'It is commonly used to promote illegal, offensive and unscrupulous ventures such as black market drugs, celebrity porn, bogus prizes, Nigerian money laundering and other false and or fraudulent material.'

But Alston acknowledged the proposed law, which would likely come into force next year if it passes Parliament, would only tackle spam originating in Australia and that the legislation must be backed up by software designed to stamp it out. "