The Email Wars

What if it was illegal to actually set up or represent your email address with false information? This is an interesting law finding traction in Europe. I am not quite sure how this would be policed, but it sure would help email marketers from having bad lists and email false positive rates with the ISPs. Just how many of you are barraged with false email addresses at sign up each day? And how many of you have to constantly monitor your lists to keep them clean?

Some European countries are proposing outlawing the use of fake information to open e-mail accounts or set up Web sites, a move intended to help terror investigations but which could face resistance on a privacy-conscious continent.

The German and Dutch governments have taken the lead on the proposals, crafting legislation that would make it illegal to provide false information to Internet service providers and require phone companies to save detailed records on customer usage.

The aim, analysts say, is to make it easier for law enforcement to access information when they investigate crimes or terrorist attacks. But Europeans have long cherished their privacy, railing against measures that would see personal information stored for commercial use or government examination.

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