FROM MAY 19, spam containing sexual content will have to be specifically marked, according to a new US law. The FTC has ordered that the phrase "sexually explicit" should be placed in the headers of all spam mail containing sexual content and forbidden spammers from putting graphic pictures in the bodies of messages.
They say that this will remove the old "brown paper bag" type of sex spam in which the reader has not got a clue what they are seeing until it is opened. According to a study by the Federal Trade Commission, 17 per cent of pornographic email offers contain images of nudity people are forced to see. The law should make it easier for spam filters to work better, however some think that the new law lacks teeth.