CNET: Want to stop spammers? Charge 'em

Declan McCullagh shares his thought on Federal Trade Commission's three-day spam summit.

The suggestions were predictable: As they have each year since 1997, with nothing to show for it so far, members of Congress vowed to enact a law restricting spam. People selling spam blockers touted their products, and so-called e-mail marketers complained that their bulk messages were being unfairly tossed in the trash. Poor things.

On Friday morning, though, FTC commissioner Orson Swindle said something that made a lot of sense. "I don't care if it's commercial, religious or entertainment (spam). It's all pollution," he said.

That's exactly right, and that's how we need to start thinking about spam. It's not primarily a technological or legal problem: It's an economic one.