more on Spam Controls Imperil E-Mail Reliability

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Cindy Cohn <cindy () eff org>
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 10:43:29 -0800
To: <dave () farber net>
Cc: Annalee Newitz <annalee () eff org>
Subject: Re: [IP] Spam Controls Imperil E-Mail Reliability

Hi Dave, 

EFF's whitepaper on collateral damage caused by spam (written by Annalee
Newitz and me) talks about this problem, and several others brought up by
Anick's article.  We wrote it specifically about noncommercial email mailing
lists (like yours) but the problems are generally the same for others:

http://www.eff.org/wp/?f=SpamCollateralDamage.html

And we probably ought to add into this conversation the next problem down
the road-- the collateral damage that will result from attempts to create
"sender authentication" of one form or another.  There's even more baby that
will be lost with that bathwater, including the constitutional right to
anonymous speech.  We've been working with the nonprofit Human Rights in
China and combatting censorship conducted in the name of (and using the
tools of) anti-spam efforts is a growing problem for them.

Spam is bad.  But we need to pay attention to the damage caused by the
claimed "cures" as well as the disease.

Cindy 

------ End of Forwarded Message

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