The courts have done nothing to protect the rightsof individual users from junk e-mail. The closest they have come is to enforcerestrictions sometimes imposed by ISPs on access to their systems. But that was already the rule. The statute left spam in the hands of the ISPs, many of which don'tcare to protect their users' privacy. As a result, spamming is more commonthan ever.
More power needs to be placed in the hands of individual users.
Today,it is almost impossible to do anything on the Internet without providingan e-mail address. Too often, this information is shared with other businessesfor use in spamming. Unfortunately, a new court decision may worsen the problem. The court dismissed a consumercomplaint that the cookie-exchange practices implemented by DoubleClickInc. and its customers to force banner advertisements onto consumers' computersviolated their privacy rights. There is no socially redeeming value in sending someone unsolicitedbulk e-mail.