William Pryor: “Last month, this body overwhelmingly voted to stop unwanted phone calls from telemarketers. We put our foot down and…”

“Last month, this body overwhelmingly voted to stop unwanted phone calls from telemarketers. We put our foot down and stopped these uninvited guests from barging into our home, interrupting our family time and invading our privacy. I would like to think that families can enjoy a peaceful dinner now that we have allowed the Do-Not-Call list to move forward. Today we address a similar problem--America's e-mail inboxes have been invaded by unwanted and deceptive e-mail solicitations. Not only is this practice annoying and frustrating to our constituents, but the practice is costing consumers and businesses valuable time and resources. In a report dated January 22, 2003, the Federal Trade Commission indicated that at least 40 percent of all e-mail is spam, with more than half considered to contain false and deceptive information. This has been a problem in my State of Arkansas. The FTC recorded 2,048 fraud and identity theft complaints from Arkansas consumers who reported having lost $1.3 million to these scams.”