AGIS Signing up New Spammers

Mon Nov 17 15:18:19 UTC 1997

> If you decide to start filtering out SPAM by blocking it from the source,
> do you end up becoming a content provider because you're controlling what
> your customers have access to?  If that is the case, what legal
> implications arise ...

I was wondering if anyone was going to trip to this... Full credit, Mr. Shaw!

The last time I had a fulll legal review done was back in August 1995, but
at that time, any filtering of the newsgroups for content (e.g. warez, porno,
etc) could be deemed to be "an application of editorial control", and shazam! 
you were in the "content provider" biz, and at that time, subject to
all the nasty implications of the Compuserve decision (mainly that you're
toast if you *ever* fail to fully exercise your editorial perview regarding
responsible prevention of libelous matter, etc).

Best guess at ths time, without having had a full review done, is that
filtering spam at the source *might* fall into the same category. However,
since in theory mail is *personal* in nature ratehr than broadcast, it might 
be deemed to fall into the same category as blocking all carrier route sorted 
bulk mail in the real world. However, note that you *can't* get USPS to do 
that, either.

Interesting aspect to it all, that's for damn sure....

Stan
--
Stanley P. Hanks
Vice President, Engineering / First Point Communications (an Enron company)
210 SW Morrison St., Suite 400 / Portland OR 97204
vox (503) 464-8480 / fax (503) 464-2042 / email stan_hanks at pgn.com