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June 02, 2004
Organized Crime to Take Over Spam?
Posted by Ernest Miller
Brother Dana has a post worthy of much consideration this morning arguing that the anti-spam laws will drive spammers into the arms of organized crime (Spammer In A Can):
Within a year, I predict, the days of the individual spammer will be over. The days of the corporate spammer will be here. And the volumes of hard-to-trace spam that will result will dwarf anything we have seen to date.
This is worrisome not simply because the spam problem will continue but, because once organized crime has taken root, other opportunities for socially detrimental activities will increase. For example, I've often compared those who would game alternative compensations systems to spammers. The problem becomes worse if the spammers are part of organized crime. Of course, that is a single example ... there are many more nasty things that become possible with organized criminals manipulating our network.
For those interested in SPAM laws world wide, be sure to check out LawMeme's comprehensive coverage: LawMeme's Spam Archive.
Comments (2)
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Ernest Miller pursues research and writing on cyberlaw, intellectual property, and First Amendment issues. Mr. Miller attended the U.S. Naval Academy before attending Yale Law School, where he was president and co-founder of the Law and Technology Society, and founded the technology law and policy news site LawMeme. He is a fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.
Ernest Miller's blog postings can also be found @
1. Seth Finkelstein on June 3, 2004 12:19 AM writes...
Ehhh ... spamming is kind of a low-margin activity to attract *serious* attention, Soprano's style.
The way to think about it is that spammers are thieves. I don't mean that metaphorically. Rather, spammers steal marketing services. That's the spam-economics, if you can steal the money for advertising, you can lower the margin it takes to be profitable.
The argument is basically we're going to get higher-level thieves. I don't see it, in terms of margins for making it worthwhile.
Permalink to Comment2. Dana Blankenhorn on June 6, 2004 02:00 AM writes...
Seth: The easiest way for organized crime to get into spam is by demanding protection money from spammers. That may already be happening, I don't know.
Another way, of course, is to maintain spammer resources in places where law enforcement can't reach, like Russia. Easy to do.
This doesn't have to be the Italian Cosa Nostra. There are many organized criminals, in many ethnic groups, and many have access to excellent technical minds.
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