FTC Requiring Lables On Explicit Spam

Sexually explicit Internet spam must now carry a warning label according to a Federal Trade Commission rule that went into effect Wednesday.

A Federal Trade Commission rule went into effect Wednesday requiring that unsolicited commercial e-mail that contains sexually oriented material include the words “SEXUALLY EXPLICIT” in the subject line.

The rule also bars graphic images from appearing in the opening body of the message. Instead, the recipient must take some action in order to see the objectionable material, either by scrolling down in the e-mail or by clicking on a provided link.

Jonathan Kraden, staff attorney with the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the label “should help the computers to filter if a computer user decides to set their filtering system up to recognize these two words.”

Source: Associated Press