----- Forwarded message from Tim May -----
From: Tim May
Subject: Unintended Consequences of Anti-Spam (A.U.C.E) Laws
To: cypherpunks
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 19:25:49 -0700

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Item: How long before corporations cite spam laws to stop shareholders and customers from organizing campaigns against the corporations? If the CEO of McDonald's receives 10,000 letters from angry customers, is this spam? (I'll bet some of the major uses of the spam laws is along these lines, a kind of version of SLAPP suits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).

Item: Or is there some exemption for "political and social speech"?

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Item: How about religion?

Item: If either political advocacy or religion is exempted, then spammers can insert religious messages into their spam. "Hello, I am Monsignor Ubalong N'fasti, Chief Prelate of the Catholic Church in Lagos, Nigeria. I am in urgent need of your assistance in continuing God's work in our country..."

Item: Spammers can exploit _any_ exemption in the legislation for religion, political advocacy, environmental advocacy, etc. Having legislators or judges or ministerial-level bureaucrats deciding which messages are "exempt from spam laws" and which are not would be a free speech disaster.

And so on.

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--Tim May, Citizen-unit of of the once free United States " The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. "--Thomas Jefferson, 1787

----- End forwarded message ----- « 8:02:52 PM »