Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) is e-mail sent in bulk to recipients without their consent. UCE is also known as “spam” or UBE (unsolicited bulk e-mail). UCE imperils the Internet, by overloading its international infrastructure, as well as the mailboxes of users. This article focuses on novel steps taken recently by the European Union and by Minnesota to control the transmission of spam e-mail. Their new laws move the world closer to an Internet without spam.
Fundamental legal and philosophical issues are at stake in the battle to control UCE – privacy rights of individuals, competing commercial interests and the extent of government regulation.
