WASHINGTON, July 10, 1998 -- Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTCÕs Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Deirdre Mulligan, Staff Counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology and Coordinator, Ad Hoc Working Group on Unsolicited Commercial Email (Working Group), will release the results of the Working GroupÕs year-long exploration of the problems created by unsolicited commercial email, or spam.

In June 1997, the FTC held a half-day workshop on spam that documented the frustrations of email users Ð both individuals and businesses Ð with the growing clutter of unsolicited messages in their in-boxes. As a response to the results of this workshop and at the behest of then-Commissioner Varney, CDT coordinated numerous participants from the entire Internet community Ð including software companies, Internet service providers, civil libertarians, consumer advocacy groups, bulk emailers, and other interested parties Ð in an exhaustive investigation of the harms of spam, the legal and technical tools currently available to address spam, and a review of proposals and potential solutions. Over a ten month period this Working Group was briefed by outside experts and fellow participants on a range of topics, including the workings of email and various email filtering programs, the prosecution of email fraud and the genesis of current legislative proposals. This process enabled the Working Group to hone in on the key issues that must be addressed by any solution to the problems of spam.

The report to be released documents the progress, finding and recommendations of the Working Group. The goal of the report is two-fold: to provide a factual basis for efforts to address spam and to furnish a number of recommendations that the Working Group as a whole believes should be taken in this area.

WHEN: Tuesday, July 14, 1998, 10:00 A.M.
Room will open at 9:00 A.M. for camera set-up

WHERE:
Federal Trade Commission
Room 432
600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20580

The Center for Democracy and Technology, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to developing public policy solutions that advance civil liberties and democratic values in the new computer and communications media.