Weekly column: Political spam, the new national pastime? [sp]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5213287.html?tag=nefd.acpro

Political spam as national pastime
May 17, 2004, 4:00 AM PT
By Declan McCullagh

Aaron Russo wants your vote so badly, he's willing to spam you for it.

Last week, Russo, a Hollywood producer who is running for president as a 
Libertarian Party candidate, fired off thousands of unsolicited e-mail 
messages announcing his campaign and asking recipients to "help support 
Russo financially" with "automatic monthly contributions."

Russo, whose films include "The Rose" and "Trading Places," is not 
alone. Political spam has become a thoroughly nonpartisan communications 
technique, with Democrats, Republicans and third parties alike turning 
to bulk e-mail in numbers that are still small but steadily increasing. 
Two percent of all spam is political, according to statistics compiled 
by antispam vendor Brightmail.

Since Jan. 1, a federal law has regulated spam. But if you look at the 
law's fine print, you'll find a telling exemption: Our elected 
representatives made sure the restrictions don't apply to them. As a 
result, the Can-Spam Act covers only e-mail promoting "a commercial 
product or service," which lets political spammers off the hook.

[...remainder snipped...]
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