The Internet Industry Spam Code of Practice was registered on 16 March
last year, and it came into force for Australian Internet and email 
service providers four months later.  The Code is now an important 
initiative in the front of Australia's battle against spam, and may be 
downloaded here:

http://www.iia.net.au/files/IIA/Codes%20of%20Practice/Spam/iia%20spam%20code.pdf

The Spam Virtual Taskforce of the Internet Industry Association (IIA),
which includes representation from the Western Australian Internet
Association (WAIA) and South Australian Internet Association (SAIA), are
now reviewing this Code following its first year since registration.

Comments on the operation of the Code during its first year are being
sought not only from within the Internet industry, but from all other
stakeholders including those from the non-profit sector, government, the
private sector, and most importantly the community of Internet users.

Comments are invited on issues such as these:

* The Code requires ISPs and email service providers to provide their
   customers with information about the Spam Act, Spam Code, the ISP's
   policies on spam, spam filtering options, and how to make complaints
   about spam.  Has any of this information come to your attention?  If
   not, how (if at all) would you have liked it to have been brought to
   your attention?

* Email service providers based outside Australia have been exempted
   from certain provisions of the Code.  If you use an internationally
   based email service, have you encountered any particular difficulty
   in locating the information about spam as described above, or in
   making complaints about spam coming from your provider's network?

* ISPs and email service providers are now required to take specific
   steps to secure their networks, and in certain cases also their
   customers' networks, against being abused by spammers.  Did these
   steps affect you in any way (for example, by having your Internet
   account suspended, or by preventing you from sending email)?  If so,
   were you satisfied with the steps that were taken?

* If you made a report about spam to your ISP or email service
   provider, or a complaint about their compliance with the Spam Code,
   did you receive a response?  How quickly did you receive it?  Did it
   contain all the information you required?  Were you satisfied with
   the response given?

* Do you have any other remarks about the Spam Code - is there anything
   in it that shouldn't be, or anything that isn't but should be?

Please note that this is not a review of the Spam Act, but only of the
Internet Industry Spam Code of Practice.  Therefore comments on issues
such as the definition of spam and the penalties applicable for offences
against the Spam Act, are beyond the scope of this review and cannot be
taken into consideration.

The preferred method for providing your comments is by email to
spamcodereview§iia.net.au, with any document attachments in plain
text, RTF or PDF formats.  However if you would like to pass on your
remarks by phone instead, you may contact the chair of the Spam Virtual
Taskforce, Jeremy Malcolm, on (08) 9213 0801.

The closing date for comments is 16 April 2007.

-- 
Jeremy Malcolm LLB (Hons) B Com
Internet and Open Source lawyer, IT consultant, actor
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