CNET reports that a company that makes money selling anti-spam software released a study showing that the Can-Spam Act failed to have any effect on the rate of spam being sent. MX Logic said it saw very little compliance with the Can-Spam law, which its CTO described as more of a help to internet service providers, as it allowed them to bring civil charges against the most egregious violators. This finding contradicts recent indications (also this and this) that spam has peaked.

One reason many anti-spam firm studies often have relatively shrill findings is that they tend to take strict interpretations of compliance and apply them to emails that the government does not consider to be "commercial." For instance, subscriber newsletters that contain advertising are not considered commercial communications by the FTC, yet many studies find them out of compliance if they fail to meet certain format obligations, like including a physical address.