The Lumber Cartel, local 42 (Canadian branch)
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Law

This is a collection of information about existing laws, proposed bills, government policies, etc., that relate to spam fighting.  Although our focus is on Canada, various internationally recognized information is also included mainly as a reference to provide a global perspective, and to ensure easier access to specifically useful information.  If you would like to contribute some information, please let us know.

If you're not sure which of the following categories to select, then we recommend Canada:

Canada International

Defining "spam"

If you're a law-maker, this may provide some helpful perspective:  Spam comes in many different varieties, and covers a wide range of topics, so more than one definition is needed (here's one of many definitions that is centred around every user's natural right to consenthttp://www.lumbercartel.ca/glossary/spam.pl#spam).

Any given definition can serve the purpose of identifying one or more types of spam, but since spam fundamentally is a social problem, technology that is devoid of truely effective AI (Artificial Intelligence) will always be a step behind (consider the spammer using anti-spam technologies to pre-test their spam runs -- the game of "beat the Joneses" is one that goes on in perpetuity, and the spammer will always find a way to circumvent filters with intentional spelling errors or other more subtle tactics).

Having multiple definitions of spam could be similarly useful to having multiple tools, such as a variety of blacklists (or DNSBLs) that both overlap in some areas while also uniquely focusing on certain specific aspects (all useful for blocking, scoring, and/or tagging eMail messages in real-time), in addition to various filters and other more specialized technologies.  Although these solutions don't block or eliminate all spam, and do require regular upkeep, they do make a big difference, yet if they were all restricted to a single definition of "spam" then their scope could potentially be very limited, thus reducing their current proven levels of effectiveness.

See also

 
 
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