6. Addressing A Global Problem

Stopping Spam: Creating a Stronger, Safer Internet
Report of the Task Force on Spam
May 2005

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The Challenge

It has been estimated that only a small proportion of the spam received by Canadians originates in Canada. This reflects the fact that, because of the open nature of the Internet, spam can potentially be sent from anywhere, to anywhere. Stopping spam therefore requires the harmonization of anti-spam policies, and cooperation among different countries in enforcing anti-spam laws.

Canada has been active for a number of years already in international forums where Internet issues are discussed. Recently, much of this discussion has focussed on the different legislative, regulatory and enforcement actions taken by some countries to deal with spam, and the need to ensure that these approaches are compatible with the global Internet environment.

As a result of this work, progress is being made in coordinating anti-spam policies between countries, and in cooperating internationally to enforce anti-spam laws and regulations. In some cases, this has been done by piggybacking anti-spam enforcement action onto existing cooperative agreements, such as the one between Canada's Competition Bureau and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. However, these existing arrangements have been used only to a limited extent, and new arrangements should be developed to deal specifically with anti-spam enforcement.

Much remains to be done to promote effective international coordination and collaboration in the worldwide fight against spam. While it is important to coordinate legislation, regulation and enforcement, it is now clear that a broader approach is needed at the international level. Many countries now recognize that a multistakeholder toolkit approach, of the kind Canada has consistently advocated, is proving to be the most effective approach in fighting spam and dealing with other online problems.

For this reason, the Task Force on Spam supports the development and adoption of best practices for email marketers and network management in an internationally coordinated manner. We also encourage Canadian ISPs, email marketers, business email users and Canadian consumer representatives to become active in international efforts to combat spam through initiatives such as the development of globally compatible email authentication and certification regimes.

Task Force Actions

The Task Force on Spam promoted the strong, coordinated presence by the Government of Canada and all Canadian stakeholders in developing and implementing bilateral and multilateral approaches to fighting spam. To this end, members of the Task Force were active in a number of important international forums.

Multilateral Cooperation

1) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Task Force on Spam

Canada is an active participant in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Task Force on Spam, which has developed an anti-spam toolkit along lines similar to Canada's multifaceted approach.

Individual countries have volunteered to lead or participate in developing elements of the toolkit. Canada has volunteered to undertake a comparative analysis of the anti-spam legislative frameworks that are in place internationally, and has also offered contributions to a number of other items, such as public education and awareness, anti-spam technologies and industry-led measures resulting from Canada's Task Force on Spam's work, including its recommended best practices for ISPs and other network operators.

2) London Action Plan

In October 2004, representatives of the public and private sectors from 15 countries, including Canada, met in London, England, to discuss ways of improving international cooperation in enforcing anti-spam laws and regulations. Since different countries have different anti-spam legislative frameworks, the meeting brought together a broad range of enforcement agencies that may not usually work together, including agencies responsible for data- and privacy-protection, consumer protection, competition and communications regulation.

The result of this meeting was the London Action Plan on International Spam Enforcement Cooperation, which aims to develop ways and means of improving international cooperation in dealing with spam and spam-related problems.

The London Action Plan on International Spam Enforcement Cooperation does not replace international agreements that already exist between enforcement agencies. Rather, its main purpose is to enhance communication among the diverse agencies involved in the fight against spam. The Task Force indicated its support for the London Action Plan on International Spam Enforcement Cooperation, and, through Industry Canada, participated in its implementation. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is also participating.

3) Other Multilateral Cooperation

The Task Force was involved in the anti-spam activities of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the International Telecommunication Union and the World Summit on the Information Society, including in the work of the United Nations Working Group on Internet Governance.

The Task Force also supported the anti-spam activities of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Internet Engineering Task Force, and the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network.

The Task Force would also like to acknowledge the important work done by the private sector through bodies such as the Anti-Spam Technical Alliance, the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group and various industry associations.

Bilateral Initiatives

Canada is actively promoting international cooperation in the implementation of anti-spam policies and strategies through bilateral policy agreements with key partners, including Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Taiwan and the European Commission. Agreements have already been signed with Australia and the United Kingdom, and the Task Force anticipates that agreements will be signed later in 2005 with the United States, Taiwan and the European Commission.

Recommendations

Canada has a long history of international leadership in communications policies and strategies. In recent years, our comprehensive e-commerce policy framework, our competitive broadband marketplace, and our service-transformation and government-online initiatives have drawn international attention.

The Task Force believes Canada has an opportunity to lead in the next phase of the global fight against spam. Although a number of other countries have already enacted anti-spam legislation, and were the first to promote cooperative enforcement mechanisms, Canada has seen demonstrated results in industry best practices and its public awareness campaign, which are solid first steps demonstrating the value of adopting a multifaceted, multistakeholder approach that complements strong laws and vigorous enforcement with other tools.

As well as an opportunity, the Task Force believes Canada has an obligation to exercise international leadership in combatting spam. One major contribution the country can make is to reduce the amount of spamming in Canada.

In analyzing the experiences of other countries and the efforts currently under way to construct cooperative enforcement mechanisms, the Task Force has come to the following conclusions.

• There is much to be learned from the experience of other countries about what works – and what does not work – in the fight against spam and related threats to the Internet. As well as reinforcing the importance of adopting a multistakeholder toolkit approach, these experiences demonstrate the importance of founding the fight against spam on laws that prohibit sending commercial email without the prior consent of the intended recipients, and that provide significant penalties for engaging in spamming activities.
• The actions that we take within Canada to reduce the amount of spam will only have a limited effect on the amount of spam arriving in Canadians' email inboxes, unless these actions are complemented and reinforced by strong, effective international cooperative actions against spammers.
• Canada has an opportunity to lead in the growing international fight against spam, particularly by helping developing countries adopt a multistakeholder toolkit approach to fighting spam and adapt it to their own needs and capabilities.

We therefore recommend the following:

Recommendation 18:

The federal government should continue to pursue bilateral agreements on anti-spam policies and strategies with foreign governments.

Recommendation 19:

The federal government, in consultation, collaboration and partnership with other stakeholders as appropriate, should actively promote and assist the coordinated international implementation of anti-spam policies, laws, regulations and enforcement measures; industry standards and practices; and public education and awareness activities.

Recommendation 20:

Canada should make its expertise in developing multistakeholder toolkit approaches to combatting spam available to help developing countries.