The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has organized a meeting next month in Geneva to combat spam, which...
June 2, 2004
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has organized a meeting next month in Geneva to combat spam, which it describes as one of the major plagues affecting the digital world.
The meeting, which will take place during Phase 2 of the World Summit on Information Society, will centre around the scope of the problem, technical solutions, education and awareness, legislation and enforcement and international cooperation.
Spam, the ITU says, clogs e-mail, mobile and instant messaging services as a result of Spammers sending hundreds of millions of messages a day.
It ranges from offensive material and commercial advertising to that which supports fraudulent and criminal activities.
The annual loss in productivity is estimated to exceed US$10 billion in Europe and the United States alone.
"Spam is a significant and growing problem for users, networks and the Internet as a whole," the ITU said in a statement. "In order to build confidence and security in the use of information and communication technology (ICT), there is a need to take appropriate action at national and international levels."
