Alexandra Obst 18:56, 2 Sep 2004 (EST)
Privacy_and_New_Technologies
Privacy and New technologies-Email Spam
Email spam (unsolicited mail, normally advertising a product, service or business scheme) is the greatest form of wireless privacy invasion. Unknown to many is how operators get a hold of ones email address. As email addresses are used for many different things they are easily accessible to companies who wish to use email campaigns; this is why people are victims to high amounts of junk mail. Email spam is a problem that has constantly invaded the privacy of email users. “Millions of unwanted messages seen with PC-based e-mail each day� (http://news.com.com/2100-1041_31015595.html) are the effects of the email spam problem that is current with today’s technology.
Marketers see email as a quick and inexpensive way of marketing there products, as they are able to send emails to as many addresses as they want without the cost of media placing or SMS text messages. All email users have been exposed to this form of marketing at one time or another. Spam can also include the transmission of viruses from one computer to another, this is why it is important that emails from an unwanted or unknown sender should not be opened or automatically filtered out. Unsolicited mail, is noted by many customers as a top privacy concern of theirs, along with unsolicited telephone calls and sale of mailing lists. (cited http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39124925,00.htm. accessed 10 October 2004)
There are numerous amounts of spam filtering systems that have been developed to filter unwanted mail out of peoples email accounts. Email users are attacked by numbers of email spam everyday not only is this irritating it is also an invasion of privacy and a violation of private information. Spam can become such a problem for specific people that they may have to change their email addresses, as the spam filter system hadn’t worked. One particular spam filtering system Reachon.Com claimed to have done something that no system has done before by improving the spam situation not only for email users but also the marketers who utilise email campaigns. People can log on and subscribe to have particular information sent to them and companies can send emails knowing that they will be filtered by email companies to prevent them being sent to un-subscribed accounts.
There are some quite severe consequences for email spam and it is regulated by the FCC to be banned. Major spammers can be fined large amounts of money or in some countries even a prison sentence is involved if thought necessary. The legislation related to handling personal data and email spam also differs from country to country. “The European legislation calls for a transparent and consent-based approach to handling personal data, whatever the purpose. The US regulation avoids blanket legislation but addresses some privacy concerns with focused laws (for instance aimed at the banking sector, or currently, cutting out spam).�(http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39124925,00.htm, accessed October 25, 2004). Although email spam has been reduced it is still a grave problem concerning the privacy of email users and will continue to be so until banned entirely.
Bibliography
Olswang. Dont forget about privacy. 2004. http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39124925,00.htm (accessed October 25, 2004)
Spam war settles into mobile phones. 2004. http://news.com.com/2100-1041_31015595.html (accessed October 25, 2004)
Alexandra Obst 16:38, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
