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Texas Targets Spammers, Child Predators
by Chloe AlbanesiusTexas Attorney General Gregg Abbott has vowed to enforce his state's new anti-spam law but acknowledges that challenges still lie ahead in the quest to stop unsolicited commercial e-mail.
"Realistically, only reputable, law-abiding businesses and people will follow the law," Abbott said in a statement. "The newly enacted legislation may not deter illegal spam from other states or countries where spam laws may not exist or where enforcement is a low priority."
The law, which took effect in September, bans the sending of e-mails with deceptive or false subject lines, false return e-mail address and no e-mail address to which consumers can respond.
"Spammers who break the law by sending obscene materials without a label face being charged with a Class B misdemeanor and may spend up to 180 days in a county jail and be fined up to $2,000," Abbott said.
"While the new law is a step in the right direction, we are not out of the woods yet," he added. "Rest assured that our office is firmly committed to protecting Texas consumers."
Texas also has launched a new fugitive unit with a focus on child predators. "Our initial mission is to locate, arrest and send back to prison convicted predators who have violated the conditions of their parole," Abbott wrote in his weekly column.
The unit already has arrested 14 predators wanted for parole violations. "One such felon was arrested while watching children play on a busy playground," Abbott said.
The fugitive unit will work in conjunction with Texas' cyber-crimes unit, which has facilitated the arrest and indictment of 15 men who attempted to arrange meetings with agents posing as children in Internet chat rooms.
"We will not rest on our laurels in our quest to remove child predators from chat rooms and neighborhoods," Abbott said. "Our record of success in arresting these individuals shows that the problem exists on a scale some parents may not realize."
In California, meanwhile, Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Monday announced that a San Francisco investigative team arrested a man in possession of child pornography. A routine probation search in September revealed several computer discs with porn belonging to Rodney Swanson. A subsequent search of Swanson's home found thousands of images of children from ages 3 to 18 on four computers, 1,300 of which the FBI considers child porn.
Report Criticizes California Telecom Proposals
New wireless rules pending before the California Public Utilities Commission vary little from prior proposals and could have disastrous economic implications for residents, according to a new report from the Law & Economics Consulting Group.
"This latest economic analysis confirms an inescapable conclusion: Rules are counterproductive, costly and harmful for consumers," Tom Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, said in a release.
Utilities Commissioner Carl Wood in July issued a "telecom consumer bill of rights" that would require all consumers of telecom services, including wireless, to: receive clear and complete information about their services; select their services and vendors; control the use of their personal information; participate in public proceedings; receive accurate bills; receive equal treatment; and have their safety and security respected.
Wheeler said a plan developed by the wireless industry is more workable. "The industry's voluntary consumer code gives wireless consumers more information and more options while still allowing carriers the flexibility to be responsive, efficient and innovative," he said.
The consulting group's report argues that the cost to implement the commission's proposal would start at $288 million and grow to $709 million in recurring costs. Consumers also have to pay between $4 and $17 per month, depending on their services.
North Carolina AG Praises 'Do Not Call' Efforts
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper on Wednesday praised the federal court decision allowing the FTC to enforce the national "do not call" registry against telemarketing.
"Millions of consumers here in North Carolina and across the country have made it clear that they don't want to be bothered by telemarketing calls," Cooper said in a release. "I'm pleased that the court agreed that the do-not-call registry should continue so that consumers can exercise their right to decide who calls them at home."
North Carolina has more than 1.6 million residents who signed the registry, which lists phone numbers that telemarketers cannot call without permission.
Georgia Examines Its Technology Roots
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) has compiled a state technology timeline set to be unveiled at the Georgia Technology Celebration on Oct. 21.
The timeline, measuring 30 feet in length, highlights the growth of the industry in Georgia, with a focus on the two-dozen parent companies that got their start in the state.
"The reason we've undertaken the timeline project [is] to have a clear picture of the incredible growth of technology in Georgia over the past decades and the companies that started it all," said William Bolen, chairman of the celebration's committee and principal of Atlanta consultancy The Da Vinci Group. "We think it will serve as a valuable baseline for us, too, as the industry grows into the future."
Virginia Firefighters Get More Security Aid
Virginia on Tuesday received its 17th round of homeland security grants for firefighter. Fourteen state communities will receive $1.7 million in order to assist with fire operations and safety.
"The health and safety of our firefighters and emergency responders are critical to the security of our commonwealth," Gov. Mark Warner said in a release. "These additional resources will enhance the security of all Virginians."
In other news, a grant from the National Science Foundation has enabled Virginia-based Vanu to develop software that can provide cellular service to rural areas. The service fits all the services provided by a cellular-tower base station into software and a non-specialized computer server. Vanu is running test sites in two Texas communities, where they will remain if successful.
Massachusetts To Update E-Procurement
Massachusetts finally will begin revamping its COMM-Pass e-procurement system, two years after proposing such updates. Federal Computer Week reports that the state looked into updating COMM-Pass years ago but just secured the necessary funding.
BearingPoint, the company overseeing the project, will pay the upfront development costs and recoup its investment via subscription fees imposed on vendors. That "self-funding model" is expected to bring in $4.7 million in revenue during the five-year contract. BearingPoint later will split revenues with the state.
The goal of the overhaul is to automate more computer servers for state and local agencies, universities and other public authorities, schools and vendors.
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