Lawsuits recently filed by four of the largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) against a number of named and unnamed spammers will put the Can Spam Act of 2003 to the test, says a Duke University researcher.

"AOL, Earthlink, Microsoft and Yahoo are about to find out how real, deep and effective this policy is," says Ken Rogerson, research director of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism, part of Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.

The act, which was approved by Congress in late 2003 and went into effect Jan. 1, imposes limitations and penalties on the transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail via the Internet.

"Before the act, ISPs had little to no recourse against spam," says Rogerson, who specializes in Internet policy issues. "Now, in response to innumerable complaints, it is time to pit the act against the First Amendment, the prevailing rationale for purveyors of spam."

Rogerson says he expects it will be difficult for the ISPs to legally prove damages. "But it is truly time to see if politicians have been able to put some backbone into tech law, law that can withstand the scrutiny of the courts. Given past history, it may be a long, hard fight."

Rogerson can be reached for additional comment at (919) 613-7387 or by email at rogerson@duke.edu.