William Tauzin: “Mr. Speaker, for the second time in just a few months, Congress is on the verge of passing watershed consumer protection…”

“Mr. Speaker, for the second time in just a few months, Congress is on the verge of passing watershed consumer protection legislation. Less than 2 months ago, we enacted, in record time I might add, legislation that codified the ability of the Federal Trade Commission to implement the Do Not Call Registry on telemarketing phone calls. Today, we take an equivalent step in the Internet area. S. 877, with the substitute I have called up, will give millions of Americans the ability to block unwanted and unsolicited commercial e-mail, what we now derisively call spam. The Internet has given us abilities beyond our wildest dreams; and as it continues to grow in popularity and functionality, the time will come when every American, from school kids to senior citizens, homemakers to CEOs, will rely on it for crucial aspects of their lives. But one of the terrific aspects of the Internet, the ability to send and receive e-mail, has given us enormous headaches because of spam. It cripples computer networks and makes regular e-mail checking a seemingly endless hassle. Even worse, a great deal of spam channels in pornography and other subjects not worthy of discussion on a family cable channel, and this spam frequently preys on defenseless, unsuspecting children.”