World over, the popularity of
Internet is closely linked to its use as an e-mail communication medium. Most
of the new entrants to the Cyber world do so because of the need to send and
receive e-mails. They then graduate into surfers and start exploring the world
wide web. This tendency is more in countries like India where people are cost
conscious and they know that they have to pay Rs 21 per hour to the DOT plus
Rs 7 more per hour to the ISP when they are on line.
If therefore, Internet usage
has to grow and E-Commerce has to develop, it is necessary for the community
to promote e-mail usage and protect it from being misused in a manner which
would dissuade genuine users from taking onto e-mail usage.
In some countries there are
specific laws that try to protect e-mail users from spam. While many marketing
agents would find e-mail marketing a legitimate marketing tool, with the
growth of irresponsible e-mail marketers, there is a growing apathy to the
concept of e-mail marketing itself. In the interest of the community and the
serious e-mail marketers, it is necessary that the use of e-mails for
marketing be regulated.
Apart from the normal
accusation that spam mails clog up valuable e-mail space and bounce out
genuine e-mails, such e-mails are also a source of virus infusion. There are
also "Fraud Schemes" being touted through spam mails.
In the context of "War on
Cyber Pornography", it is also essential for India to take steps to prevent
"Invitations to visit Pornographic Sites" from being sent through e-mails.
Many of these e-mails are addressed by name to the recipients and land up in
the regular e-mail boxes.
This worries a
responsible Netizen whether the use of e-mails by children is to be
restricted to avoid such mails landing up in the mail boxes of their wards.
There are web sites who
promise free services with the ulterior objective of collecting e-mail
addresses which are then sold for spam operators. There are some who make bold
offer of e-mail addresses for sale and are guilty of promoting spam.
In order to stop the misuse of
Spam and protect the sanctity of the e-mail service, there is a serious need
for an appropriate measure on all those who are directly and indirectly
involved in furthering the interests of Spam..without curbing the freedom of
speech and freedom of doing business.
Should it be in the form
of a new law? since ITA-2000 does not speak of spam?.. is a debatable
question. It can be, if it can make matters simple. But this is a long drawn
process and action cannot wait the passing of the "Anti Spam law of India".
Many think that existing
laws of the Meta Society coupled with the ITA-2000 can provide enough
ammunition to prevent spam and misuse of e-mail for spread of pornography and
virus. This of course needs registration of a case and a follow up by
investigating authorities.
World over, the strategy is to
make the ISP providing SMTP server as responsible for taking preventive action
against spam. While this may not eliminate the problem, it may substantially
reduce the problem and we need to consider how this is implemented in practice
consistently to prevent incoming spam mails to India.
Presently VSNL and may be
other ISP s in India are preventing group outward messages as a first measure
to prevent spam. This perhaps followed the action of some international
ISP s black listing VSNL for having provided SMTP facilities used for
spam.
However these measures
normally affect e-mail lists or genuine friendly exchange of mails from a peer
group and not a well planned spam. Also this does not prevent the Indian
resident being spammed.
Some ISP s have taken a
decision not to allow the use of SMTP server facility except for their own
customers. In the process, if some body is using Dishnet DSL connection and
using VSNL e-mail ID, the SMTP server of VSNL is not available to him. This
again is not sufficient to prevent spam and affects genuine customers.
ISP s have to therefore think
of other measures to prevent their SMTP servers from being used for spam
mails. This can perhaps be done by a system that authenticates group mails
through an alert before the out bound mails are released. This will ensure
that there is a genuine return address for the group mail and some body is
taking responsibility for sending the mails. This can also be a premium e-mail
service given only after some verification of the account holder.
Simultaneously, action is
needed to curb the Porno Invitations landing up in normal e-mail boxes. This
should be treated as a serious violation of Section 67 of the ITA-2000 and
action initiated on all Web sites behind such mails and the ISP s involved.
This is the next phase of the War on Cyber Pornography that India should wage
now.
Naavi
January 17, 2002.