Activist spam has delivered a setback to commercial spam. A mass emailing campaign launched by concerned netizens led a US House of Representatives subcommittee to shelve a hearing on a pro-spam measure until Tuesday August 4. Introduced by Republican senator Billy Tauzin, the HR 3888 bill was opposed by ISPs, net users and activists on the grounds that it would legitimize certain forms of spam. Some of the annoyed users had already received spam claiming legitimacy under section 301 of the bill. The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE) said congressional offices were inundated with phone calls and faxes calling on Congress to reject legislation that might legalize spam. So vehement was the opposition to the Tauzin bill, CAUCE entertains hopes that it may be dropped altogether.
