The top three e-mail service providers are pooling their resources and technical expertise to reduce unwanted commercial solicitations, or spam, inundating their systems.
America Online, Yahoo and Microsoft on Monday sketched a broad outline that calls for technical changes to e-mail to make it more difficult to send the widely reviled messages. Among the steps are plans to hinder spammers from creating multiple fraudulent e-mail accounts in bulk and to determine the real identity of the senders.
The three companies said they will work with organizations across the industry to drive technical standards and guidelines that will work across any software or hardware systems. They also said they will work with companies that regularly communicate with consumers and businesses through e-mail to help them become aware of what is considered spam.
The problem has become so widespread that federal lawmakers are trying to craft policy to punish spammers. Earlier this month, a pair of U.S. senators reintroduced a bill, called the CAN-SPAM Act, that would make it a federal offense to send spam using false return e-mail addresses. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, also has proposed legislation to combat spam. The Federal Trade Commission, which is holding a spam conference this week, has prosecuted spammers using consumer fraud charges.