Microsoft pushes for weakening of anti-spam law

OLYMPIA — Anti-spam activists and a state attorney have argued against a proposal pushed by Microsoft that would weaken Washington’s tough law against unwanted e-mail.

In one way, Senate Bill 5734 would expand the state’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act by requiring that unsolicited commercial e-mail must include “ADV:” as the first four characters in the subject line, to make filtering out such messages easier.

Commercial e-mail from legitimate sources isn’t covered by the law now.

But it would also carve out a broad exemption in the law for mail sent by companies the recipient has done business with, and completely exempt Internet service providers — including Microsoft.

“The bill weakens existing law,” said Paula Selis, senior counsel in the consumer protection division of Attorney General Christine Gregoire’s office.

Selis said yesterday that unscrupulous Internet service providers — known as “spam houses” — are the source of much of the unwanted e-mail that bounces around the Internet. Many providers shun the spammers who hawk everything from pornography to herbal supplements by sending out millions of e-mails in hopes of finding customers.

Some spammers also route their messages through unwilling providers such as Microsoft’s Hotmail and MSN, which try to keep themselves free of spam.

Washington law bans bulk or commercial e-mail with misleading information in the subject line, invalid reply addresses or disguised paths of transmission.

It allows for damages of at least $500 per message for individuals and $1,000 for Internet service providers, who bear the financial brunt of dealing with spam. Only a handful of lawsuits have been filed under the law.

The Microsoft bill would cut the minimum award to $10, and cap damages at $25,000 per day.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland, is being brought forward in many states, said Scott Hazlegrove, a Microsoft lobbyist. It’s aimed at balancing the interests of consumers who don’t want to be spammed with businesses’ desire to tap the Internet as an advertising medium, Hazlegrove said.

“It will not ultimately end spam entirely,” said Hazlegrove, who added the company was willing to work with the state and other interests on a new version. “No bill can do that.”

Neither Hazlegrove nor Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake would comment further on the company’s motives for proposing the bill.

Smaller Internet service providers — who often suffer the most from spam because of the volume of messages that clog their systems — smell a rat. Microsoft is one of the world’s largest providers of Internet service, and a company that has an existing business relationship with virtually every computer user.

“The way it’s written, it exempts them from the whole thing,” said Jim Kendall, president of Telebyte Northwest in Silverdale, a small Internet service provider.

The smaller providers also questioned exemptions in the bill that would allow spam to members of clubs.

“How about the enlarge-your-penis club or the porno buying club?” asked Sheldon Koehler, owner of Ten Forward Communications, a small provider in Port Angeles. Koehler said he spends much of his time protecting his customers — and his young son — from unsavory e-mail. “I have the privilege of looking at some of the most vile e-mail on the planet.”

Finkbeiner said he simply wanted to make it easier for people to filter out unwanted mail, and said the bill would not move forward without changes.

“We probably aren’t going to want to take any steps back,” Finkbeiner said.